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Got Neck Pain? Study Says Chiropractic Care and Simple Home Exercises Work Better Than Painkillers

Find neck pain natural remedies here.

Got Neck Pain? This study says chiropractic care and simple home exercises work better than painkillers.

Article written by: Elizabeth Walling, The Nourished Life 

Neck Pain Natural Remedies  www.PrimallyInspired.com

 

Painkilling drugs are associated with dangerous side effects, addiction and overdose. And it turns out they are also much less effective than harmless natural treatments. A new study shows that simple remedies like chiropractic treatments and home exercises relieve sub-acute neck pain better than pharmaceutical drugs – and without all the negative side effects.

 

Dangerous painkillers can (and should) be avoided

It’s estimated that 75 percent of Americans deal with neck pain at some point in their lives. Neck pain accounts for millions of trips to the doctor every year. The pain can be acute and severe enough to interfere with our everyday lives, but modern medicine offers little help. At best, you get over-the-counter pain relievers or narcotic drugs, all of which come with dangerous side effects and are often not effective enough to get rid of pain.

 

A study published on January 3, 2012 in The Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrates the power of alternative therapies for neck pain. Participants in the study were divided into three groups: one group made regular visits to the chiropractor, one group received traditional drug therapy, and the third group was instructed on how to perform therapeutic exercises at home to combat their neck pain.

 

At the end of 12 weeks, it was clear participants who engaged in non-drug therapy fared better than those who received painkillers. In the chiropractic group, 57 percent of individuals reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain. In the home exercise group, 48 percent reported similar pain relief. However, only 33 percent of the painkiller group saw such results.

 

The long term benefits are equally impressive. Even one year later, patients in the chiropractic and home exercise groups were still experiencing benefits. About 53 percent in each of these groups still saw at least a 75 percent reduction in pain. In the painkiller group, only 38 percent reported this kind of pain relief.

 

Besides being less effective, the painkiller group was also increasing their medication over time, which can lead to more serious side effects.

 

“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,” says Dr. Gert Bronfort, research professor at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Minnesota and an author of the study.

 

He adds, “If you’re taking medication over a long time, then we’re running into more systemic side effects like gastrointestinal problems.”

 

It’s clear that pharmaceutical drugs are not only dangerous, but ineffective compared to safer natural alternatives for dealing with neck pain.

 

Sources for this article include:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/for-neck-pain-chiropractic-and-exercise-are-better-than-drugs/

http://www.annals.org/content/156/1_Part_1/1.abstract

This article was republished with author permission. It was first published here: http://www.naturalnews.com/034689_neck_pain_chiropractic_painkillers.html#ixzz2pqO8IvsS

About the author:

Elizabeth Walling is a freelance writer specializing in health and family nutrition. She is a strong believer in natural living as a way to improve health and prevent modern disease. She enjoys thinking outside of the box and challenging common myths about health and wellness. You can visit her blog, The Nourished Life, to learn more.

 

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Would you rather receive neck pain natural remedies as opposed to painkillers? Have you had success with chiropractors?

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5 comments

  1. Avatar

    There are many benefits to neck pain chiropractic care and treatment. One of them may be eliminating the need for medicinal solutions.

  2. Avatar

    The most common condition for this type of pain is inter-vertebral disc degeneration, which simply means that the discs
    located between the vertebrae of the spine are breaking down with age.
    In some circumstances, it is doable to avoid medicine and even surgical
    procedure by obtaining chiropractic care.
    Department of Education to give accreditation to chiropractic schools.

  3. Avatar
    lyndahuggins@gmail.com

    Great exercise for rounded back

  4. Avatar

    I agree 100% with this article, by using pain killers to treat your neck pain or any pain for that matter is setting you down a slippery slope. Yes pain killers will work and greatly reduce your pain but soon these pain killers will become less and less effective causing you to take more and more. This will cause unreversible damage to your body.

  5. Avatar

    I agree medicine has its place, but when it comes to neck pain, Chiropractic is usually a very good place to start. Many times a Chiropractor can eliminate the need for the daily painkillers that so many people take. It’s important to actually fix underlying problem rather than cover it up with pain pills.

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