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.