For Neck Pain: Chiropractic better than drugs

 

 

New Research, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, found that Chiropractic care was better at reducing pain than taking medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or narcotics.  Even a year later, there were differences between the spinal manipulation and medication groups.

One group was assigned to visit a Chiropractor, making an average of 15 visits. A second group was assigned to take common pain relievers like acetaminophen and in some cases, at the discretion of a medical doctor-stronger drugs like narcotics and muscle relaxants. After 12 weeks, of the people who recieved spinal manipulations,  57% reported a 75% reduction in pain compared to 33% of the people in the medication group.

A year later, 53% of the subjects who recieved  Chiropractic spinal manipulations still reported at least 75% reduction in pain. That compared to just a 38% 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 had to keep taking them and in higher dosages which elicited gastrointestinal problems.