In an ABC Broadcast – Diane Sawyer –
Watch the Video on Youtube –
Neck Pain: Chiropractors, Exercise Better Than Medication, Study Says (Video)
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, followed 272 patients with recent neck pain who were treated using three different professions:
- Medications
- Physical Therapy – Home Exercise
- Chiropractic Adjustments
After 12 weeks the patients who used a chiropractor or exercised were almost 3 times as likely to be pain free compared to those who relied on medicine
“Doesn’t surprise me a bit,” Dr. Lee Green, professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan told ABC News. “Neck pain is a mechanical problem, and it makes sense that mechanical treatment works better than a chemical one.” (aka chiropractic care)
Conclusion of the Study – Per the New York Times on Chiropractic & Neck pain
“After 12 weeks, the people in the non-medication groups did significantly better than those taking the drugs. About 57 percent of those who met with chiropractors and 48 percent who did the exercises reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group.
A year later, when the researchers checked back in, 53 percent of the subjects who had received spinal manipulation still reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, similar to the exercise group. That compared to just a 38 percent pain reduction among those who had been taking medication.
In addition to their limited pain relief, the medications had at least one other downside: people kept taking them. “The people in the medication group kept on using a higher amount of medication more frequently throughout the follow-up period, up to a year later,” Dr. Bronfort said. “If you’re taking medication over a long time, then we’re running into more systemic side effects like gastrointestinal problems.”
Try chiropractic today.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Trace Palmer