The "Annals of Internal Medicine" published in the Jan. 3, 2012 issue a study by the "Joint Decade's Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders", it's treatment with chiropractic spinal adjustments versus home exercises versus medication (NSAIDS). This was a fairly large study involving 272 patients with neck pain and followed for 6 years following treatment. The patients were divided into three groups. One group was treated with chiropractic adjustments, the second with home exercises and the third with standard medications (NSAIDs). The chiropractic group and the home exercise group both fared better than the group treated with medication, both over the short term as well as the long term. The group treated with chiropractic adjustments fared slightly better than those treated with home exercises. Improvement was seen both in the short term and the long term. This difference; however, was not statistically significant. In summation, for mechanical neck pain, chiropractic treatment and home exercises are more effective than medication, both in the short term and the long term.
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