Duke University and the University of NC Chapel Hill have published their new finding " in the November issue of Arthritis Care & Research that drugs and diagnostic testing are overused in treating chronic neck pain. The findings indicate clinicians may overlook more effective treatments for neck pain, such as therapeutic exercise."

As an Asheville chiropractor, this is not new news.  My profession and I  have been questioning the costly use of advanced diagnostics as a starting point for neck pain that failed to resolve with medications.  We frequently find that many if not most cases of neck pain are associated with postural anomalies placing stress on the muscles and ligaments.  This is why we adjust the anomalies and give our patients therapeutic exercises to strengthen the corrections made.   The Chiropractic Physician considers the musculoskeletal system first and not a disease process unless exams demonstrate warning signs of a condition that is not appropriate for conservative treatment.

I have been effectively treating neck pain and headaches for over 20 years.  We use advanced diagnostics to assess our patients for the source of the pain.  Rarely do we find that drugs are needed to address neck pain.

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