Study On Neck Pain

A recent study published in the prestigious, Annals of Internal Medicine compared chiropractic care, medication and home exercise as potential treatments for acute (new) and subacute (not quite as new) neck pain.  The study, by Bronfort et al, is titled “Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise With Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain”.  It showed that 32% of patients undergoing chiropractic care for neck pain were pain free after 12 weeks of treatment and 30% of those utilizing home exercise as being pain free after 12 weeks.  Only 13% of those who were prescribed 12 weeks of medication were pain free. 

This really speaks volumes to what we, as chiropractors, already know, and that is that most garden-variety neck pain is mechanical, meaning joint/muscle/ligament related.  Dysfunction of one of the structures has a great impact on the others.  If a muscle becomes tight it puts additional stress on a joint.  When that joint becomes restricted due to the pull of the tense muscle the ligament that holds the joint together adapts to its “new” restricted motion and becomes shorter and less elastic.  This will in turn put more pressure on the joint and its cartilage. 

The treatment for this type of condition should address the lost mobility, not the pain itself.  Once the different structures are moving normally and less pressure is being put on them, the pain will diminish and often does so very quickly.  The medication just masks the pain.  It is really a breath of fresh air to hear a journal like the “Annals” publishing reports like this.  For more information on what chiropractors do for this condition and to view examples of neck exercises visit www.peyserchiropractic.com.