Your body does quite an amazing balancing act with your head. Which is to say, if you imagine a 10-pound mass (your head) sitting atop a column of bones (your neck) — with split-second movements in all directions — you’ll begin to understand why neck pain ranks as one of humankind’s most common and persistent problems.

There are all sorts of neck pain: the temporary type you have after sleeping awkwardly, the sore type you have following exercise, or the nagging type often associated with a car accident. At least in the first case, the general consensus can be summed up thusly: “Stop doing what makes it worse.”

Chronic pain, however, is a different matter.

Not only can it be debilitating, but — since prescription drugs are often used to address the condition — it’s also at the center of the opioid crisis now roiling the nation.

With drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin carrying the risk of addiction and even death, both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged consumers and healthcare providers alike to seek non-pharmacologic alternatives for managing such pain.

One of the most popular choices? Drug-free chiropractic care, which boasts high patient-satisfaction scores and is covered by most insurance.

“Doctors of chiropractic are well-trained and highly educated in the structure and function of the human body,” says Sherry McAllister, DC, executive vice president of the not-for-profit Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. “They use hands-on techniques to help enhance neurological control, flexibility, muscle strength, and range of motion.”

Another choice gaining popularity is using CBD or cannabidiol to help treat physical pain.

CBD is derived from the hemp plant, and functions by binding to cannabinoid receptors in the body’s endocannabinoid system. These tiny receptors, found in virtually every cell and tissue type in the body, are key to keeping our bodies in balance. Ongoing research is looking at how our bodies endocannabinoid system may benefit from pure forms of cannabidiol and help treat pain and inflammation.

A 2015 review published in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry discussed the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD. They found that CBD may help reduce inflammation through several pathways in the body, and represents an effective aid for a range of conditions characterized by inflammation.

One company, PurePlan.com, offers a high quality, pure form of CBD in lotion form to help you apply it directly to the areas you need help with. Their broad spectrum CBD pain lotion comes from USA grown, non-GMO hemp, is grease-less, contains no THC and comes in several different strengths. And for a limited time, we’ve arranged to get our subscribers a FREE Travel Size Pain Lotion (a $39 value) and Pure Plan only asks that you help witha small shipping and handling fee of $9.95. To get your free Travel Size, click here.