Neck Pain and Chiropractic

Neck pain is a leading cause of disability in adults, and in adults it is reported in up to as high as 20%. (1,2,3). Most cases of acute neck pain, will resolve within 3 months, although a substantial proportion of people will continue to experience low grade symptoms or frequent recurrences. (4) Do you or a loved one experience neck pain? This is an important article that could make the world of difference to you.
 
“A review in 2016 estimated that the annual cost of low back and neck pain was $87.6 billion in the US, ranking third behind diabetes and heart disease” (5)
 
There are several risk factors that predispose us to the development of neck pain, which include mental/emotional stress, sleep problems, sedentary lifestyle, history of neck pain, trauma, back pain, and poor general health.  (6) Sports and work injuries have also been associated with neck pain. It has been found that office and computer workers, manual labourers, healthcare workers and occupational drivers are more likely than others to experience neck pain. (7,8) With acute neck pain, about half don’t resolve and patients continue to have low grade symptoms or recurrences, which means that it then becomes a chronic issue. (4) So it’s important to get on top of it and work out the cause.
 
In a recent research study they were looking at female veterans with neck pain who had chiropractic care. It was observed that female veterans with neck pain experienced a statistically and clinically significant improvement on their assessment scores over a short course of chiropractic management (9). So chiropractic may be a viable option for neck pain management.
 
If you want to find out if chiropractic may help manage neck pain for you or your loved ones, have a chat with one of our chiropractors to see how they can assist.
 
“With so many of our modern activities putting stress upon the neck, it is important to make sure that your neck is functioning well”
 
 References
 
1.Cohen SP. Epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of neck pain. Mayo Clin Proc 2015;90(2):284–99. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.09.008.
2.Moradi-Lakeh M, Forouzanfar MH, Vollset SE, et al. Burden of musculoskeletal disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2013: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Ann Rheum Dis 2017;76(8):1365–73. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-210146. 
3.Woodhouse A, Pape K, Romundstad PR, Vasseljen O. Health care contact following a new incident neck or low back pain episode in the general population; the HUNT study. BMC Health Serv Res 2016;16:81. doi: 10.1186/s12913-016-1326-5.
4.Cohen, S.P. and Hooten, W.M., 2017. Advances in the diagnosis and management of neck pain. Bmj, 358, p.j3221.
5.Dieleman JL, Baral R, Birger M, et al. US spending on personal health care and public health, 1996-2013. JAMA 2016;316:2627-46doi:10.1001/ jama.2016.16885.
6.Croft PR, Lewis M, Papageorgiou AC, et al. Risk factors for neck pain: a longitudinal study in the general population. Pain 2001;93:317- 25doi:10.1016/S0304-3959(01)00334-7.
7. Hogg-Johnson S, van der Velde G, Carroll LJ, et al. Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders. The burden and determinants of neck pain in the general population: results of the bone and joint decade 2000-2010 task force on neck pain and its associated disorders. Spine 2008;33(suppl):S39-51doi:10.1097/ BRS.0b013e31816454c8.
8. Côté P, van der Velde G, Cassidy JD, et al. The burden and determinants of neck pain in workers: results of the bone and joint decade 2000-2010 task force on neck pain and its associated disorders. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2009;32(Suppl):S70-86doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2008.11.012.
9. Corcoran, K.L., Dunn, A.S., Green, B.N., Formolo, L.R. and Beehler, G.P., 2018. Changes in female veterans' neck pain following chiropractic care at a hospital for veterans. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 30, pp.91-95.
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