Alternatives ro exercise.
Health professionals and others offer many ways to treat neck pain. In Chapter 9,1 deal with many of these, regarding how they relate to back pain. Because the way health professionals treat back pain has much in common with how they treat neck pain, most of what I say in Chapter 9 also applies to what I could say about the alternatives that these professionals provide. Therefore I refer you to Chapter 9. Chapter 9 deals with medicines and drugs, bed rest, acupuncture, chiropractic, and electrotherapy (heat, shortwave diathermy, and ultrasound). I also discuss back pain in the community.
With few exceptions, I would simply substitute the word “neck” for “back” and “lower back” and then leave Chapter 9 as is. One exception is that bed rest, while appropriate in a small minority of cases of back pain, is appropriate even more rarely for neck pain. While a bed may be the only practical way to support a severely painful back, a much smaller device supports the neck fairly well in those cases where the neck should be treated almost exclusively by resting it. In these rare cases you should consult a doctor and then, if he or she recommends doing so, give your neck a rest by using a soft foam rubber cervical collar for short periods. Continue to use it if it immediately reduces your discomfort, but do not use it for more than three or four weeks.
Regarding neck pain in the community, a difference between Chapter 9 and what I would say about the neck is that in Western countries, approximately 40 percent will at one time suffer a severe neck pain episode (not the 80 percent in the case of the back).
Because the neck depends on good back posture, the neck patient, just like the back patient, should seek good furniture and good seating in transit situations and should complain when these are not available. Similarly, it is important not only for the back but the neck that school physical education instructors teach posture and the consequences of bad posture. Again, for information on the McKenzie Institute Postural Video, which is available to schools, please see Appendix A.
