A study conducted at Duke University and the University of North Carolina, reported in the November issue of Arthritis Care & Research concludes that medical clinicians are prescribing medication for arthritis-induced neck pain when therapeutic exercise and other non-pharmaceutical treatments may be more effective.
Chronic neck pain affects 30%-50 percent of American adults, yet approximately 50% to 85 percent report their symptoms are not completely resolved. Chronic neck pain (like lower back pain), often does not respond to the treatment provided and can have similar economic impact in terms of lost work time and higher healthcare costs. On average, chronic neck pain lasts almost seven years and can mean approximately 21 visits to a medical facility, many including costly and time-consuming diagnostic tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs), spinal radiographs and computed tomography (CTs).
In the just released study, more than 56% of subjects used over-the-counter medications (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), 29% reported taking strong narcotics (MS contin, oxycodone), and 23% used weak narcotics (codeine, propoxyphene) for their chronic neck pain. But the authors report that medical evidence on the effectiveness of medications in the treatment of chronic neck pain is quite limited.
Rehabilitation conditioning and acupuncture studies have shown to be effective treatments that were less frequently used by patients with chronic neck pain, Dr. Goode, one of the authors said.
Excellent options to relieve neck pain without resorting to medication include superficial heat, prescribed exercise, cold, spinal manipulation, acupuncture and therapeutic massage.
Robin Westen writes about health for national magazines.
See what others say about this story or leave a comment of your own.
