Most Effective Treatment For Neck Pain

By James L. Holding, DC, CCSP, Board Certified Chiropractic Sports Phys

The prestigious British Medical Journal recently published a study that concluded that manipulation “is more effective and less costly for treating neck pain” than care provided by a general practitioner.1

Neck pain can be caused by many things including stress, accidents, bad pillows, poor sleeping positions, repetitive use like cradling a phone, and degenerative changes to the upper spine common in middle age. Some 20 million Americans are estimated to suffer from non-work-related neck pain.2

This recent study compared three of the most popular forms of care for neck pain, which were manipulation, physiotherapy, and medical care by a general practitioner. The manipulation consisted of low velocity, hands-on, spinal manipulation, which chiropractic doctors frequently use. The physiotherapy, usually performed by physical therapists, consisted of postural relaxation exercises, stretching, and functional exercises. The general practitioner care offered prescription drugs if necessary, advice, and an educational booklet but otherwise, was a wait and see approach with follow-up visits allowed every two weeks. All the patients had suffered with neck pain for at least two weeks prior to the study.

After seven weeks 68% of the manipulation group had recovered compared to 51% of the physiotherapy and 36% of the general practice group. These differences still remained statically significantly at the 26-week mark and still remained superior for the manipulation group at 52 weeks.

Use of over-the-counter drugs for neck pain was lowest for manipulation group with only 37% using them during the 52-week follow up period, compared to almost 50% of the patients in both of the other groups. In addition, the manipulation group missed less work, averaging only 1.3 days off during the year due to neck pain, compared to an average 10.4 days for the GP group.

Perhaps the most dramatic difference they found was the far lower cost for manual care. Average total cost was only $514 compared to $1,492 for the physiotherapy group and $1,586 for the general practice group.

With the current research and clinical findings available, neck pain is now more treatable than ever before. If you suffer from neck pain, have your spine checked by a spinal expert. As a specialist of the spine, the doctor of chiropractic is recognized as most qualified to properly evaluate and treat the cause of your pain. The scientific research indicates chiropractic treatment is safe, affordable and effective.

1 Korthals-de Bos, et al., “Cost-effectiveness of Physiotherapy, Manual Therapy, and General Practioner Care for Neck Pain Economic Evaluation Alongside a Randomized Controlled Trial,” April 26, 2003, British Medical Journal (as reported by “Study Finds Manual Therapy ?Most Effective Treatment? for Neck Pain”, June 16, 2003, Dynamic Chiropractic, Vol. 21, No. 13, p. 18).

2 From a 1996 survey by Louis Harris & Associates (as reported by “Study Finds Manual Therapy ?Most Effective Treatment? for Neck Pain”, Ibid).