Neck Pain

As many as one in five people suffer from neck pain in a given year, and it’s generally higher among women.

So what can you do about it? A new study in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine that involved 272 adults with neck pain and compared three common treatments – chiropractic care, gentle neck exercises, and medication – found that taking drugs brought the least relief. At the end of the 12-week study period, people who underwent spinal manipulation by a chiropractor and those who did directed gentle at-home exercises reported less pain and a greater range of motion than those who took medication.

The bottom line If your neck is bothering you, it makes sense to try a nondrug approach first, especially exercise. (Gentle exercises can also help with another common complaint, back pain). Medication can come with risks, including gastrointestinal bleeding (NSAIDs), addiction and abuse (opioid pain relievers), and liver damage (acetaminophen). And chiropractic treatments can be pricey and on rare occasions may cause a stroke.

What sleeping with your phone can do to you

Lots of people check their smart phone as soon as they wake up and sleep with it by their side – but that’s not smart. You should disconnect sometimes to avoid overload and extra stress. That’s the bottom line of preliminary research analyzing the stress levels of 101 users. Surprisingly, suing a smart phone to keep tabs on personal stuff caused the most stress, not work use. A few of the most stung-out people said they even felt phantom vibrations from their phones!