“I have stiffness in my neck. Will an over the counter medication help?”
I have some stiffness in my neck. Will an OTC pain reliever be enough to treat this?
8 Answers
I'm going to be a little tongue-in-cheek here... If your neck hurts, something is wrong. OTC pain medication may alleviate the pain, but it won't "fix" the problem. If there is no soreness, only stiffness, then OTC pain medication will likely to absolutely nothing for you, with the exception of the side effects. Regardless, a good chiropractor will take a detailed history and do a thorough examination to help you determine the underlying cause of your discomfort, and treat you appropriately. It could be a simple thing, like muscle stiffness, or joint dysfunction. It could be something serious like meningitis.
The stiffness is only a symptom, it’s not the problem. The medication may lower or mask your symptom but it will never fully treat your problem. I would consider getting it evaluated by your chiropractor.
OTC only mask the problem. You should find out the cause of your neck stiffness. Go see a Chiropractor and get some X-rays to check your spinal alignment.
The pain reliever will provide temporary relief or cover the symptoms. I would recommend going to a Chiropractor to assess the root cause of the stiffness and fix it.
Over the counter may give you only temporary relief with some side effects. I would recommend a Chiropractic check up where he or she may provide an alignment of the cervical spine to relieve the pinched nerve causing the stiffness and the chiropractor would provide you with specific neck exercises to do in the comfort of your home.
OTC medications always mask the effect but never get to the root cause of the neck pain. I will advise to see a chiropractor for a well detailed examination including orthopedic tests to determine the root cause of your neck pain.
All drugs have side effects so be careful
I would avoid over-the-counter pain medication if at all possible. There are multiple short and long-term side effects from acetaminophen and NSAIDs (motrin, aleve type medications) that are not told to patients. The best home therapy for neck stiffness is likely heat, though some people respond better to ice if it's very tender. Also topical creams can help that are either menthol-based, or if your in a state with medical cannabis, those salves are extremely effective. Finally, the ideal therapy is manual treatment with a massage therapist or chiropractor.
