‘Alternative’ treatments relieve chronic neck pain
Tuesday November 3rd, 2015
Having acupuncture or using the Alexander Technique offer significant results for people with chronic neck pain, a new study has revealed.
Large-scale
research by the University of York, UK, concluded that both methods reduced
pain and associated disability over 12 months compared to standard care
on its own.
The research team from the Department of Health Sciences studied what happened to 517 patients recruited from GP practices in Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and York.
Each participant was randomly placed in one of three groups: one that was offered up to 20 half-hour lessons with teachers from the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique in addition to their usual care; a second that received up to 12 sessions of 50 minutes of acupuncture with practitioners of the British Acupuncture Council in addition to their usual care; and the third that underwent their usual care.
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that at 12 months, pain was reduced by 32% among those patients who received acupuncture and 31% who took Alexander Technique lessons. Patients in these two groups were also found to be better able to cope or reduce their pain levels without resorting to medication.
Dr Hugh MacPherson, a senior research fellow in the Department of Health Sciences at York, said: “Our key finding is that there are significant reductions in neck pain associated with Alexander Technique lessons and acupuncture at 12 months. This is an important finding because for the first time we now have clear evidence that these two interventions provide longer-term benefits for chronic neck pain.”
MacPherson H, Tillbrook H, Richmond S et al. Alexander Technique Lessons or Acupuncture Sessions (ATLAS) for Persons With Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2015; 163:249; doi: 10.7326/M15-0667.
Tags: Alternative Therapy | Pain Relief | Rheumatology | UK News
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