A bone spur in the neck, or cervical, region of the spine can cause pain, tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness in the upper extremities if it makes contact with a spinal nerve root. Rarely is surgery necessary to treat these symptoms. In fact, more than 90 percent of patients suffering from nerve compression related to spinal bone spurs are able to manage their symptoms using a combination of conservative treatment methods. These can include over-the-counter pain medication, prescription narcotics, doctor-recommended exercise and stretching, posture and behavioral modifications, and other remedies grounded in the medical mainstream. Thousands of patients have also turned to complementary or alternative methods of treatment, which won't necessarily be found in most medical texts.

Types of Alternative Treatment

Since its founding by a self-professed medium and magnet healer in the late 19th century, chiropractic medicine has gained greater and greater acceptance. There are thousands of chiropractic practitioners at work in the United States today, and many people swear by the regular spinal adjustments and other treatments that chiropractors provide for conditions such as a bone spur in the neck. This is only one of several popular choices for patients who either have an aversion to accepted medical practice, or have failed to find relief through mainstream treatment methods. Others alternative treatments include:

* Acupuncture - the practice of using tiny needles to encourage the flow of a "life force," known as Qi, originated in Asia thousands of years ago and continues to attract loyal adherents throughout the world today.

* Inversion therapy - through the use of specially designed tables, patients are hung upside down to, in theory, relieve gravitational pressure from nerve roots and other components of the spinal anatomy.

* Prolotherapy - sugar solutions are injected into the spine in an attempt to help deteriorating connective tissue regenerate, thereby improving spinal stability and relieving pressure from compressed nerve roots.

* Herbal supplements - certain herbs and compounds, including glucosamine and chondroitin, are believed by some to have curative properties related to the structural damage caused by osteoarthritis, a precursor to the development of spinal bone spurs.

How Well do Alternative Treatments Work?

The evidence supporting the efficacy of complementary and alternative treatment methods is largely anecdotal. Many studies have been conducted over the years to test the effectiveness of these methods, and most have either debunked them or proven inconclusive. For example, a 2010 study of the effectiveness of glucosamine and chondroitin treatments for osteoarthritis showed that patients who were administered placebos experienced roughly the same amount of relief as those administered the actual compounds.

The bottom line regarding alternative treatments for conditions such as a bone spur in the neck is that patients should use their best judgment, based strongly on input from a trusted medical professional. In most cases, patients can expect neck pain and other symptoms to diminish over time, with or without the use of alternative treatment methods. In extreme cases, elective surgery may become an option, but typically only after all conservative treatment methods have proven ineffective over the course of several weeks or months.