lf you're advised by your doctors to  go under the knife to treat neck pain, should you listen?

Maybe not.   A recent study found that surgery, often touted as the most effective way to treat certain types of neck pain, might not be the best approach after all.  A study reported in the medical journal Spine, concluded that interventions by a chiropractor prior to surgery can sometimes be the best treatment option.

   Neck pain affects up to 70 percent of the population , and thousands of surgeries are performed each year.     Spinal manipulation of the neck often proves to be the best approach when treating neck pain.

    Another study conducted by the International Neck Pain Task Force of the World Health Organization concluded that in cases of neck pain without consistent radiating pain in the shoulder and arm, surgery should rarely be advised.  This is an authoritative study, and if the advice it offers is heeded, many less surgeries will be performed in the future.

Debunking Myths

    The Neck Pain Task Force also questioned a link once thought to exist between the cervical spine and neck manipulation and the development of a vascular problem known as vertebrobasilar artery insufficiency, or vertebrobasilar artery stroke.

    Some erroneously believed that chiropractic care could lead to higher rates of the condition. But the study confirmed that's not true.  The study concludes that patients develop stroke symptoms at the same rate, regardless of the type of practitioner they select.

    It's important to make important decisions about your health with information based on facts and not myths.   This new study may help more people obtain needed relief without having to consider surgery, with it's long rehabilitation period and risk of painful complications afterwards.