For Neck pain – Chiropractic and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs.
In a study for acute neck pain over half (57%) of patients (272 patients) felt better under chiropractic treatment compared with one third (33%) taking medication.
At 12 months 53% of the subjects still reported at least a 75% reduction in pain compared to 38% of those on 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.”
Ref: Bronfort G1 et al., Spinal manipulation, medication, or home exercise with advice for acute and subacute neck pain: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Jan 3;156(1 Pt 1):1-10. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-156-1-201201030-00002.
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