Neck pain. Common problem? or Something more serious?

Neck pain is a very common occurrence among adults. At least 75% of adults will deal with neck pain at some point in their lives. The neck in itself is a very delicate structure. There are seven tiny bones in the neck that are called vertebrae and they are tasked with one of the most important jobs in the body. They are there to help support the weight of your head (5 kg, roughly 12lbs), while allowing for motion to be present within the neck. Because of the delicate nature of these bones, they are very susceptible to injury. Some of the symptoms that may be associated with neck pain are sore muscles, headaches and/or tightness across the upper back musculature. There are many causes of neck pain but some of the more common ones are:

• sitting
• repetitive movements
• accidents/slips/falls
• aging
• poor posture
• weak core stabilization
• everyday wear and tear

So how can chiropractic care help alleviate some of the pain? There are existing studies that show that chiropractic care is effective for patients suffering from chronic and acute neck pain.

In one such study (http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1033256) that was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, compared spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) and prescription medication as treatment options, researches concluded that SMT was more effective both in the short and long-term. At the end of 12 weeks, 57% of participants in the SMT group reported at least a 75% reduction in pain, while only 33% of the medication group had similar results. One year later, patients in the chiropractic group were still experiencing benefits, as 53% still saw at least a 75% reduction in pain.

Chiropractic care has been proven to help with neck pain.

Chiropractic care is also helpful for negating neck pain reoccurrences within the span of one year. In a recently published article (http://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754(15)00081-0/abstract) in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that out of 545 patients (341 females), with a mean age of 42.1 years that completed a 1-year follow-up period, only fifty-four (11%) were identified as “recurrent.”

They concluded that the results of this study suggest that recurrence of neck pain within 1 year after chiropractic intervention in Swiss chiropractic patients presenting from varied onsets is low.

As you can see, chiropractic care is not only beneficial for those that have acute neck pain, but also for those that have had a reoccurring problem for quite some time. On top of that, those that have been under chiropractic care for a time frame will have less reoccurrences of neck pain. For those seeking pain relief, maybe chiropractic care can be your answer!