Do I need a chiropractor or a massage?

[Caitlyn]

I haave a lot of upper back and neck pain. It won't go away and it gets really bad. Does anyone know the best route for me? Do chiropractors really help

 

[Marc]

Well without knowing the specifics of your case it really is impossible to determine the best route for you to take.

As a general rule the approach to this could be both massage and chiropractic. A lot of chiros have massage therapists on staff for just this reason. A chiropractor can assess your condition to determine what could be wrong and causing you to have this pain and possible treat it, if it due to a structural problem. A massage therapist can work the soft tissues that are spasmed/injured and help release this pain.

Your best bet would be to find a chiro that has a massage therapist in their office. Make an appointment for an evaluation with both the DC and the LMT.. Once you have the assessments you will be in a better place to make a decision about what course of action to take that would best suit your needs.

Best of luck. Email me directly if you have questions.

 

[Gary Y]

Overall, chiropractic has only been shown effective for temporary relief of lower back pain. I wouldn't recommend letting a chiropractor anywhere near your neck.

From Wiki (check the sources):
"A 2010 systematic review stated that there is no good evidence to assume that manipulation to the neck is an effective treatment for any condition and thus concluded, "the risks of chiropractic neck manipulations by far outweigh their benefits."[28]"
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02352.x/abstract

I think physiotherapy would be a much better option. Its not based in superstition or bogus concepts like subluxations in the spine as the leading cause of all disease. There is no evidence for the existence of Chiropractic subluxations.

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EDIT: @Mr E - chiropractic may well have been around for over a century, but that doesn't mean it works. Bloodletting for example was thought to work and it survived for centuries. Is that the best evidence you have for Upper Cervical Chiropractic? An appeal to antiquity?

Moreover - your brand of chiropractic was 'invented' in 1930s, not 100+ years ago when chiropractic was originally invented. You specifically reject the concepts of original chiropractic, and traditional chiropractors reject your 'HIO Upper Cervical' concept. You base it entirely on something that has never been demonstrated to exist.

Seeking evidence and providing existing evidence is hardly a dirty trick.

 

[Dr_ Lightning_Osteopath]

You should have some manual therapy if it is not resolving.
There are a lot to choose from so talk to some friends and see who they recommend.

NB. A chiropractor is much better qualified to judge whether or not your neck can be manipulated than some of the other bloggers on here.
Chiro's have done 4 years of training + supervised clinic + treatments on real patients and can fully assess someone neck or their overall suitability for treatment as they are front line practitioners.

The one's who say, "Don't let a chiropractor near your neck" are almost exclusively not front line practitioners are get their information 2nd or third hand from scare mongering web site masquerading as consumer advocacy sites.

 

[MyThought]

Do you know what caused your pain and what aggravates it? If you have an acute injury, a recent sprain or strain, see a physician.

If it isn't acute but caused by cumulative activities, either a chiropractor or massage therapist can help ease the pain. Chiro may be covered by insurance, but if not, I would recomment the massage therapy. Of course, I'm biased.

You may have built this pain over a period of years - don't expect one 30 or 60 minute treatment is going to make it all go away. It might be appropriate to have a massage every two weeks until the issue is resolved, then once a month as maintenance after that.

 

[thenoseknows]

A Chiropractor is the best person to diagnose the cause of the problem. If there is a case of misalignment of your spine/neck massage won't do a thing to put it back in place, but it will assist the muscles to conform to the properly adjusted position after they've been out of balance for so long. Chiropractic treatment serves to realign everything in the right position.
Find a Chiropractor who specializes in sports medicine -- they also use other modalities such as ultrasound, interferential and low level laser to alleviate pain in addition to conventional techniques.
Chiropractic has been a real life saver for people with acute or chronic neck or back pain.
All conventional medicine can offer you are pain killers that damage your liver. Hardly the answer.
The anti-chiropractic trolls have a strange obsession with posting childish nonsense.

 

[Mr E]

chiropractic has been around for over a century, despite all that dirty tricks and underhanded deals that the medical-drug establishment, represented here by the likes of gary and his type, could pull to try and destroy it. it has survived and prospered for one simple reason- it works where medicine fails. all the fraudulent, forged "scientific medical evidence" in the world doesn't mean spit to a suffering sick person when it brings no results. results are all that matters. a massage will do nothing to relieve chronic muscle pain caused by nerve interference. see an hio method upper cervical specific chiropractor and get real and competent help.