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Richmond Chiropractic Care for Cervical Spine Conditions and Related Dysphagia (swallowing trouble)

Many Richmond cervical spine-related pain (like neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical spine disease conditions) sufferers may be surprised to learn how it might impact your swallowing ability. Dysphagia is the technical term for swallowing problems. While cervical spine conditions may have an impact on your pharynx and its swallowing function, it is important to understand just how and why that would occur. Let’s, Johnson Chiropractic and you, 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 involves both sensory and motor components. When it comes to the sensory part, pain originating in the neck has the potential to impede your ability to sense what’s in your mouth, resulting in difficulty determining when to swallow which can result in issues like choking or coughing while eating. On the motor side of things, cervical spine pain conditions may also interfere with your ability to move food as it goes through your mouth and throat by disrupting normal tongue, jaw, and hyolaryngeal movements (the movement of the hyoid bone, the bone that supports the tongue). Therefore, there may be trouble clearing food debris from your mouth after each bite or sip. Additionally, cervical spine disorder has been linked to heightened risk of aspiration (inhaling food particles) due to decreased laryngeal elevation that commonly occurs during swallowing. (1) Johnson Chiropractic wants our Richmond cervical spine pain patients to know about 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 those whose dysphagia was linked to other issues. (1) As a matter of fact, a case report of a female patient with swallowing issues who also had cervical osteophytes, cervical kyphosis, and thoracolumar scoliosis was treated for 6 months with chiropractic reported relief of all issues including dysphagia. (3) In order for individuals with cervical spine disorder-related dysphagia to return to safe eating habits, proper treatment is essential. Treatment at Johnson Chiropractic typically involves 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 plus tactics to swallow safely when eating. Electrical stimulation has been reported beneficial in targeting specific areas of weakness associated with impaired tongue motion or jaw closure while also promoting increased blood flow throughout the neck region. (4,5) Johnson Chiropractic offers research based and clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic spinal manipulation.

CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic

There may not be a quick fix for this problem—treatment typically takes several weeks—and with patience and dedication you can get the results you want with personalized care tailored specifically for your needs. Make your Richmond chiropractic appointment soon.

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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."