In 2012, NIH convened a Task Force on Research Standards for Chronic Low Back Pain, comprising 16 invited experts from varied disciplines and from scientific and research institutions outside NIH. The NIH Pain Consortium's charge to this group included developing a set of standards to increase the consistency of future clinical research on cLBP.
In April 2014, the Task Force began to release publications on its work, including a full report with recommendations on standards, an executive summary, journal articles, and a uniform minimal dataset. The Task Force's recommendations, considered a dynamic document, are intended to help advance the field, resolve controversies, and ease the way in future cLBP research.