Acupuncture for neck pain

I just injured my neck in a car accident. Will acupuncture help my neck pain?

 

Neck pain has many causes and is a common complaint in millions of people. Asides from motor vehicle injuries, neck pain may be due to arthritis, tendonitis, fibromyalgia or sore muscles.  Because conventional medical treatment for neck pain sucks, many people have been turning to alternative health care. 

Review of the literature indicates that acupuncture does help some patients with pain relief, especially those who have had short term pain. In individuals with chronic neck pain, acupuncture has not been found to be helpful at all. 

Therefore, for the consumer who has failed to improve with pain medications, acupuncture may be worth a try. However, acupuncture is not cheap and requires many sessions. The cost of acupuncture can vary from $80-$150 per session and you may need anywhere from 8-20 sessions. If you do not have the money, learn some passive neck exercises that you can do at home, use a cool or warm compress and try over the counter pain creams/pills. My personal experience with acupuncture is that it does not work all the time, the pain relief is mild, the treatment is expensive -in short it SUCKS.