Chiropractic Care & Your Never Ending Neck Pain
The applications of chiropractic care are quite wide ranging. We often make the assumption that chiropractic care is strictly for back problems and that we only need to see the chiropractor if there is something seriously wrong with our back. This goes for many different individuals who believe in chiropractic care’s potential effectiveness, but there is a whole other group within the medical community that casts doubt on chiropractic care’s effectiveness as a whole.
However, it is important to recognize when chiropractic care can come into play as a way to reduce the potential for harmful musculoskeletal conditions to develop, as well as to improve outcomes in conditions that we are already experiencing.
A recent study published in the journal The Annals of Internal Medicine assessed chiropractic care’s effectiveness in treating patients with neck pain compared to other traditionally sought out interventions such as pharmaceutical medication and exercises specifically tailored to strengthening the neck. The study divided a population of 272 subjects experiencing neck pain into three different groups. One group was prescribed pharmaceutical medication, the second group was prescribed an exercise program with the guidance of a medical professional, and the third group was prescribed chiropractic care. Each of the three groups were administered the treatment over the course of 12 weeks in pain and discomfort outcomes were evaluated after the 12 week period. Researchers also monitored the patients over the course of a year to determine the longevity of these treatment options.
At the end of the 12 week period, the chiropractic care group and the exercise group had experienced much more beneficial outcomes than the medication group. With further analysis, researchers determined that the benefits of chiropractic care were felt for the entire year after the 12 week period while the exercise group’s benefits did not last nearly as long.
This study enforces the value of chiropractic care in patients experiencing neck pain and shows us that chiropractic care is a far more effective than pharmaceutical medication in treating neck pain. Finally, we can see that chiropractic care is more that just a treatment for back problems - it can help injured areas across the body. From headaches to neck pain to knee problems, chiropractic treats it all.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of John Donges