Alternative Treatments for Neck Pain

If you’ve got constant, severe neck pain that just won’t go away, it can be difficult to perform your activities of daily living, such as self-cares, cooking or cleaning, it can cause you to be depressed or irritable, leading to friction in your family relationships, and it can make it difficult, if not impossible, to be remain gainfully employed.

If you’re suffering from neck pain, and you’ve tried a variety of traditional treatment options, such as physical therapy, cortisone injections, narcotic pain medications, or surgical intervention, and you’re looking for other options, you may wish to ask your treating physician about alternative forms of treatment.

You might want to ask your doctor about:

Acupuncture: Many patients experience neck pain relief after a course of acupuncture treatments. Practitioners believe that acupuncture can help restore the healthy flow of energy in the body, which in turn can lead to pain relief. Acupuncture involves the insertion of fine needles into your body at specific points.

Herbal remedies: Ask your doctor before trying any herbal remedies. Some herbal remedies have side effects, and some can interfere with other prescribed medications. Some herbal remedies that may help with neck pain relief include capsaicin cream, devil’s claw, or white willow bark.

Massage: Stress can cause neck pain, and it can make neck pain worse. Massage helps release tension, and can help reduce muscle inflammation and pain.

Yoga or Pilates: Yoga and Pilates help increase your core strength, help improve your balance and posture, and help reduce stress. Increased strength, better balance and posture, and reduced stress can all help decrease neck pain.

Minnesota workers’ compensation covers almost any type of medical treatment, so long as it is reasonable and necessary, and causally related to your work injury. Several of our Minnesota workers’ compensation clients who are suffering neck injuries have had success in reducing their pain with acupuncture and massage. Unfortunately, workers’ compensation insurance companies sometimes tend to be somewhat wary about approving or paying for so-called “alternative” therapies.

For a free, no-obligation evaluation of your Minnesota workers’ compensation case, contact Meuser & Associate at 877-746-5680 or click here to send us an email.