Chiropractic Helps Neck Pain, Review Suggests

Chronic neck pain sufferers showed significant improvement with chiropractic care suggests a recent literature review published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT).

Dr. Howard Vernon, DC, PhD, the review's chief author, and his colleagues reviewed nine previously published trials and found "high-quality evidence" that patients with chronic neck pain showed significant improvements in pain-level following spinal manipulation (the form of treatment used by chiropractors). No trial group was reported to remain unchanged, and all groups showed positive changes up to 12 weeks post treatment. No trial reported any serious adverse effects.

Additionally, the reviewers found that mobilization therapy (a physical therapy technique) was beneficial with many patients gaining a full recovery within six to seven weeks; the current evidence did not support a similar level of benefit from massage therapy.

Chiropractors practice a hands-on, drug-free approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of back pain, neck pain, headaches and other neuromusculoskeletal complaints. In addition, a significant amount of evidence shows that the use of chiropractic care for certain conditions can be more effective and less costly than traditional medical care.

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JMPT