Combination of Exercise and Adjustments Help Neck Pain

A study recently published in the journal, Spine, compared the relative efficacy of rehabilitative neck exercises and spinal adjustments for the management of patients with chronic neck pain. 191 patients with chronic mechanical neck pain received 20 sessions of spinal adjustments with neck exercises; high technology, machine-assisted, rehabilitative neck exercises; or spinal adjustments alone. Range of motion, muscle strength, and muscle endurance were assessed. The use of strengthening exercise, whether in combination with spinal adjustments or in the form of a high-technology neck exercise program, appears to be more beneficial to patients with chronic neck pain than the use of spinal adjustments alone.