This article is one of a series covering neck pain — causes, symptoms, and the treatments we use at Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. For the complete overview, see the full guide:
Following on from our back pain treatment techniques in our previous blog post, we’re moving up the spine to the neck. While neck pain isn’t as common as back pain, we are seeing more and more instances of it in our New York clinic, most likely due to the way technology is encouraging us to push our heads forward more to look at computer screens or our cell phones.
Studies have shown that around 70% of people will experience neck pain of some kind during their life. There are plenty of treatments available to help treat the pain, but surprisingly there has been little in the way of published studies comparing these options.
That’s not to say that studies haven’t been carried out though. For example in 2012, a study was carried out comparing three treatment options, namely chiropractic care, medication and exercise. The study sample was 272 neck pain patients.
The study sample lasted 12 weeks and the results showed that those patients who received regular chiropractic care or exercised their necks based on instructions given, reported the most pain loss.
The study followed up a year later with those patients and discovered the same results again, those in chiro care and exercise still reported the greatest amount of pain loss than those in the medication group.
So certainly, for the short to mid term, chiropractic care and/or expert exercise instruction showed the best results in pain reduction. In fact most studies that have been conducted have been for the short to mid term and showed similar results.
There has been one study of note for longer term effects of treatment comparisons which took place in 2002. 191 chronic neck pain patients were followed and this compared the treatments of spinal manipulation, spinal manipulation AND low tech rehabilitative exercise and spinal manipulation AND high tech machine rehabilitative exercise.
The 191 patients were randomly assigned one of the three groups and were followed through treatment for 11 weeks. They were then followed up after three months, six months, twelve months and two years after to see how treatments helped.
The groups that showed the best results were unsurprisingly the groups that contained the spinal manipulations with the additional exercises. However, the group which showed the best results was actually the second group with the low tech rehabilitative exercises.
And this is actually good news, because it shows that firstly spinal manipulation does work, but even more so with appropriate exercises. Moreover, these exercises are low cost compared to the high tech machine exercises.
So chiropractic care along with exercises in the low and mid term most certainly work, and so far studies for the long term are showing similar results.
So if you are suffering from neck pain, we have the tools, treatments and expertise to help you get out of pain and feeling back to normal again.
Contact us now. We have three simple ways you can make an appointment at our 10022 chiropractor office:
Call now on (212)371 2000 or text (315)873-3095 or email us at Yo**********@***********NY.com
Ready to get out of pain? Most new patients are seen within 24 hours — walk in or book online.
Dr Shan Sivendra MD is the founder and medical director of Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. A board-certified medical doctor, certified acupuncturist, and Director of House Physicians at St. Barnabas Medical Center, Dr Sivendra has been practicing in New York since 1995.
He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center (affiliated with Mount Sinai School of Medicine) and received the Resident Research Award for three consecutive years.
Dr Sivendra has a background spanning internal medicine, pain management, and conservative spine rehabilitation, and was licensed in both the US and the UK.
At Back and Body Medical, he leads a multidisciplinary team of chiropractors, physical therapists, and acupuncturists dedicated to helping patients recover from pain without surgery or unnecessary medication.