Great article that supports the use of Spinal Manipulative Therapy (Chiropractic adjustments)  and exercise in the treatment of seniors (over 65) with chronic neck pain.  

The study compared Spinal manipulative therapy and rehabilitative exercise, Rehabilitative exercise alone and home exercises alone in the treatment of Seniors with Chronic Neck Pain.   

The results show that a seniors with chronic neck pain will benefit most with the treatment of Spinal Manipulation and rehabilitation exercises.  

Therefore, if you have neck pain that persist more than 12 weeks (chronic pain) you should see a chiropractor before you see your MD,  Physical Therapist or massage therapist.  The MD will only prescribe medications,  the physical therapist will give you exercises and the massage therapist will improve circulation to the area.  Neither of these specialties provide chiropractic adjustments as their  primary treatment and therefore will not give you the benefits you are looking for.  

If you know any seniors who suffers with chronic neck pain have them give us a call to schedule their first visit 201-489-3400.

Spine J. 2013 Nov 10. pii: S1529-9430(13)01630-6. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2013.10.035. [Epub ahead of print]

Spinal manipulative therapy and exercise for seniors with chronic neck pain.

Maiers M1, Bronfort G2, Evans R2, Hartvigsen J3, Svendsen K4, Bracha Y5, Schulz C2, Schulz K6, Grimm R7.

Author information

Abstract

BACKGROUND CONTEXT:

Neck pain, common among the elderly population, has considerable implications on health and quality of life. Evidence supports the use of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) and exercise to treat neck pain; however, no studies to date have evaluated the effectiveness of these therapies specifically in seniors.

PURPOSE:

To assess the relative effectiveness of SMT and supervised rehabilitative exercise, both in combination with and compared to home exercise (HE) alone for neck pain in individuals ages 65 years or older.

STUDY DESIGN/SETTING:

Randomized clinical trial.

PATIENT SAMPLE:

Individuals 65 years of age or older with a primary complaint of mechanical neck pain, rated ≥3 (0-10) for 12 weeks or longer in duration.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

Patient self-report outcomes were collected at baseline and 4, 12, 26, and 52 weeks after randomization. The primary outcome was pain, measured by an 11-box numerical rating scale. Secondary outcomes included disability (Neck Disability Index), general health status (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36), satisfaction (7-point scale), improvement (9-point scale), and medication use (days per week).

METHODS:

This study was funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Linear mixed model analyses were used for comparisons at individual time points and for short- and long-term analyses. Blinded evaluations of objective outcomes were performed at baseline and 12 weeks. Adverse event data were collected at each treatment visit.

RESULTS:

A total of 241 participants were randomized, with 95% reporting primary outcome data at all time points. After 12 weeks of treatment, the SMT with home exercise group demonstrated a 10% greater decrease in pain compared with the HE-alone group, and 5% change over supervised plus home exercise. A decrease in pain favoring supervised plus HE over HE alone did not reach statistical significance. Compared with the HE group, both combination groups reported greater improvement at week 12 and more satisfaction at all time points. Multivariate longitudinal analysis incorporating primary and secondary patient-rated outcomes showed that the SMT with HE group was superior to the HE-alone group in both the short- and long-term. No serious adverse events were observed as a result of the study treatments.

CONCLUSIONS:

SMT with HE resulted in greater pain reduction after 12 weeks of treatment compared with both supervised plus HE and HE alone. Supervised exercise sessions added little benefit to the HE-alone program.