Chiropractic, Medication, and Self-care for Neck Pain

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Neck pain is very common, with considerable socioeconomic consequences. Despite the public health impact, management of neck pain conditions has been inadequately researched. Systematic reviews have concluded that, although some therapies appear promising, there are too few randomized clinical trials of sufficient quality to support the use of one therapy over another. This is especially true for acute/subacute neck pain. Although commonly treated with prescription medications, neck pain sufferers are increasingly seeking relief through complementary and alternative medicine therapies, like chiropractic spinal manipulation. Little is known, however, about the short- and long-term relative efficacy of these therapies and how they compare to giving patients simple advice on self-care. The broad, long-term objective of this research is to identify effective therapies for neck pain sufferers and to increase our understanding of neck pain conditions. The proposed randomized, observer-blinded clinical trial is a unique collaborative effort by experienced chiropractic and medical researchers and will focus on patients with acute/subacute neck pain (