Spinal Manipulation in Acute Neck Pain

According to a study published in Internal Medicine Developments and supported by NCCAM, it turned out that spinal manipulation or home exercise is more effective than drug treatment in acute and subacute neck pain treatment. Researchers from Northwestern Health Sciences University and the Minneapolis Medical Research Institute randomly selected 272 participants aged 18-65 years who suffered neck pain to study spinal manipulation therapy, drug therapy, or home exercise training.

In the study, spinal manipulation therapy was affected by a variety of techniques, such as spinal adjustments (low amplitude, high velocity) and movement of spinal regions (low velocity). Participants in the drug group use anti-inflammatory drugs, acetaminophen, or both, which are not steroids; Participatory narcotic drugs were given which did not respond or tolerate these drugs. Educated home exercise focused on the soft, self-controlled movements of the shoulder and shoulder joints, and participants were told to repeat these exercises 6 to 8 times a day. Participants of this group, in addition, received an individual training on a face-to-face basis for two hours and were given written instructions on the exercises they would do at home.

Researchers observed short- and long-term improvements in participants in the spinal manipulation group compared to those who received drug treatment. At 12 weeks, 82% of the participants in the spinal manipulation group (compared to 69% in the drug treatment group) experienced at least a 50% reduction in their pain. At 26 and 52 weeks, the same findings emerged. In addition, the spinal manipulation group reported a broader global development, participant satisfaction and functionality than the drug treatment group. Educated home exercises were also affected by spinal manipulation during the weeks given.

There are very few studies to date on non-invasive methods such as neck pain, spinal manipulation, home exercises or drug use. According to the researchers, findings from this study underscore that both spinal manipulation and home exercise may be the current treatment options to overcome neck pain.