By Dr. Mohammad Shegeft
According to a research study founded by NIH and conducted at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, spinal manipulation is more effective at relieving acute neck pain in the long term than medication!
Neck pain is very common. Nearly 3 out of every 4 people experience neck pain at some point. While taking over-the-counter pain medication like Ibuprofen may help relieve the inflammation and reduce pain, manipulation of the cervical spine is still considered the first line treatment for a range of cervical spine conditions as well as headaches.
There are other conditions and symptoms that can benefit from cervical manipulation and physical therapy such as cold hands or tingling in hands and fingers. These symptoms can be due to a condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS).
TOS is a condition whereby symptoms are produced from compression of nerves, blood vessels, or both, because of an inadequate passageway through an area between the base of the neck and the armpit. Although there are many causes of TOS, the most common causes are hypertrophy of scalene muscles and misalignment of cervical vertebrae. Manipulation of the cervical spine can alleviate the tightness of scalene muscles and decrease the pressure on the nerves and arteries coming out from the spinal column. Other physical medicine modalities like Muscle Energy Stretching (MES), Trigger Point Injection therapy, Ultrasound therapy, Massage Therapy and Acupuncture are also very helpful and important in seeing long term results.
Keep in mind, that even if you do not typically have massage benefits, you may still be able to submit claims to your insurance for massage if it is recommended by myself or one of the other doctors here at AIM.