January 12, 2012 -- Most people experience neck pain within their lifetime. While not serious, neck pain can interfere greatly with daily activities. Usual care for neck pain may include medication or chiropractic, yet there has been little published evidence about the efficacy of spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) for neck pain. Researchers conducted a randomized trial to test the hypothesis that SMT is more effective than medication or home exercise with advice for acute and subacute neck pain.

Two-hundred-seventy-two patients aged 18 to 65 with nonspecific neck pain for two to 12 weeks were randomly assigned to receive

SMT, medication, or home exercise with advice for 12 weeks. Up to one year after treatment, patients having 12 weeks of SMT reported greater pain relief than patients in the medication group. Patients in the home exercise with advice group reported just as much pain relief as those in the SMT group over the same period. However, patients having SMT reported that they were more satisfied with care than those in either of the other groups.

The researchers conclude that SMT and home exercise are similarly effective to each other and both are more effective than medication for neck pain.

Source: Annals of Internal Medicine