I stumbled on this one and thought it might be interesting. A March/April 2007 literature review in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) showed that patients with chronic neck pain (8 grueling weeks or more – poor sods) reported significant improvement following chiropractic spinal manipulation.
Howard Vernon, DC, PhD, the review’s chief author, said: “The results of the literature review confirm the common clinical experience of doctors of chiropractic: neck manipulation is beneficial for patients with certain forms of chronic neck pain.”
Dr. Vernon and his colleagues reviewed nine previously published trials and found “high-quality evidence” that patients with chronic neck pain showed significant pain-level improvements following spinal manipulation. The literature also showed that no trial group remained unchanged and all groups showed positive changes up to 12 weeks post treatment. It also stated that no trial reported any serious adverse effects. I don’t know which trials they chose but it still reads well and supports my experience as a caring chiropractic physician.
The review did not include studies involving patients with acute neck pain, neck and arm pain, neck pain due to whiplash or those with headaches.
The researchers also found that mobilization therapy was beneficial in improving patients’ pain levels, with many achieving full recovery after six to seven weeks of treatment. Strangely however, the evidence did not support a similar level of benefit from massage therapy.