Home Exercise Programs Effective For Chronic Neck Pain

Neck pain commonly affects millions of patients leading to significant pain and loss of productivity.  Traditional treatment modalities have included rest, activity modifications, and a supervised physical therapy program to strengthen and stabilize the cervical spine.

While these programs have been proven effective, they have significant associated costs and inconveniences to the patient.  The question is whether a home exercise program would be effective to alleviate symptoms of chronic neck pain?  Researchers recently compared the effectiveness of 2 home exercise interventions in their ability to relieve chronic neck pain.  They randomized patients into a pure stretching program or a strengthening program.

Interestingly, they found that there were no significant differences between the 2 groups and nearly one half of the patients (those that completed the program) reported significant pain relief.  A conclusion from these findings maybe that a home therapy program for neck pain is a reasonable first step in the management of neck pain.

SimpleTherapy offers a variety of neck stretching and strengthening exercises designed for you to improve flexibility and movement.