Many Sandy Springs cervical spine-related pain (like neck
pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical spine disease conditions)
sufferers are curious
how it might impact your swallowing ability.
Dysphagia is the technical term for difficulty with swallowing.
While cervical spine conditions may have an impact on your pharynx
and its swallowing function, it is valuable to know
just how and why that would occur. Let us,
Cross Chiropractic Center and our Sandy Springs chiropractic client, take a closer look at the connection between cervical spine
disorders and swallowing function.
The Link Between Cervical Spine Pain and Swallowing Function
The relationship between cervical spine pain conditions and
swallowing function entails both sensory and motor components.
When it comes to the sensory component, pain originating in the neck has the potential to hamper
your ability to identify what’s in your mouth,
resulting in trouble determining when to swallow
which can lead to issues such as choking
or coughing during meals. On the motor side of things, cervical
spine pain conditions might also interfere with your
ability to move food as it moves through your mouth
and throat by disturbing normal tongue, jaw, and
hyolaryngeal motions (the movement of the hyoid bone, the bone
that holds the tongue). As a result, there may
be trouble clearing food debris from your mouth after each
bite or sip. Furthermore, cervical spine disorder has been linked to increased risk of aspiration (inhaling food
particles) due to decreased laryngeal elevation that normally
occurs during swallowing. (1) Cross Chiropractic Center wants our Sandy Springs
cervical spine pain patients to be aware of such issues.
The Importance of Proper Treatment
The ability to swallow affects one’s
quality of life. A variety of diseases and spinal conditions may be the source
of the swallowing trouble. Researchers are fine-tuning their evaluation of
patients with swallowing issues. (2) A recent study reported
that, fortunately for these patients, those who have spine-associated
dysphagia had better outcomes with treatment than patients whose
dysphagia was linked to other issues. (1) As a matter of
fact, a case report of a female patient who had both dysphagia and cervical
osteophytes, cervical kyphosis, and thoracolumar scoliosis was treated for 6 months
with chiropractic and reported relief of all issues including dyspagia. (3) In order for individuals with cervical
spine disorder-related dysphagia to again experience safe
eating habits, proper treatment is essential. Treatment at Cross Chiropractic Center
typically starts with a thorough examination to determine the underlying
cervical spine issue followed by a treatment plan incorporating
gentle spinal manipulation care (often in the form of Cox® Technic) and
exercises designed to improve strength and range of
motion in the neck muscles as well as strategies to
swallow safely when eating. Electrical
stimulation has been found beneficial in targeting
specific areas of weakness related to impaired tongue
motion or jaw closure while also promoting increased blood flow throughout the
neck region. (4,5) Cross Chiropractic Center offers research based and
clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic
spinal manipulation.
CONTACT Cross Chiropractic Center
While there isn't necessarily a quick fix for
this problem—treatment typically takes some time—and with
patience and commitment you can get the results you want with
individualized care tailored specifically for your needs. Schedule
your Sandy Springs chiropractic appointment today.