What’s Your Best Option for Neck Pain?
Being a chiropractor, the topic I’m going to discuss today may come as no surprise: Neck pain! Neck pain is easily one of the most common areas of complaint that we see in our office. This condition is so common, in fact, that three out of four Americans will experience it at some point in their lifetime. Neck pain can have a huge impact on daily life, making the most simple tasks much more difficult. Add a headache to that (which is often the case) and you’re likely to have a bad day.
When you experience neck pain, what do you do? Do you pop a pill from the medicine cabinet, do some stretches, or come to see me for an adjustment? An interesting study back in 2012 in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked to find the answer of which is best. When dealing with neck pain, should you medicate, exercise, or try spinal manipulation?
This study in 2012 took 272 adults who were suffering from neck pain and divided them into three groups. One group took medication only, one group had exercise instruction, and the last had chiropractic care. Each group was treated for 12 weeks before recording the results. I suppose if you’re reading this blog and you know me, you can already guess the findings: The chiropractic group had the best response! This group had the highest reduction in pain relief at 48%, compared to the medication group at 33%. The exercise group did similarly to the chiropractic group, which provides more evidence of the effectiveness for conservative care for these types of conditions. Not only this, following up 12 months after the study found that the chiropractic and exercise groups still had a 75% reduction in pain in over half of their participants.
Not only are conservative treatments like chiropractic care and exercise more effective than medication for neck pain, they are also much safer. As simple as it is to take an over the counter medication, they can have serious side effects. Did you know that around 107,000 people are hospitalized each year due to gastrointestinal complications from NSAIDs? Did you know that acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the leading cause of liver failure in the United States? Don’t take these medications so lightly and understand the side effects! Furthermore, this study from 2012 found that a year later the participants in the medication group were taking higher doses to manage their pain! Believe it or not, over time you will build up your tolerance to medications you take, which may mean you need to take more to find relief.
Being a chiropractor, I’ve always believed in the benefit of using conservative treatments to help with injuries. This is a very different model from the traditional idea that there’s a pill for everything. In truth, I actually believe that in our vast healthcare system, there’s a time and place for all types of treatment and there are times when medication may be the answer for you. That being said, over the past five years or so, there’s been a lot more attention on the harmful side effects of many medications, which has shifted focus into other types of treatment, like what I provide. In the case of neck pain and the findings in research, I would recommend you try me first before simply popping a pill. Combining spinal manipulation with our exercise protocols may be just what you need to feel better faster and get you back those great days without pain.
Dr Rob Liguori
