Many Colorado Springs people suffering from neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical
spine disease conditions are curious
how it might affect your ability to swallow.
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 this occurs. Let us,
The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR and you, look
more closely 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 component, pain stemming
from the neck has the potential to hamper
your ability to sense what’s in your mouth,
resulting in trouble determining when to swallow
which may lead to issues such as 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). As a result, there may
be trouble clearing food debris from your mouth after each
bite or sip. Additionally, cervical spine disorder has been associated
with heightened risk of aspiration (inhaling food
particles) due to reduced laryngeal elevation that normally
occurs during swallowing. (1) The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR wants our Colorado Springs
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 root cause
of the swallowing trouble. Researchers are fine-tuning their evaluation of
patients with swallowing issues. (2) A recent study documented
that, lucky for these patients, those who have spine-associated
dysphagia had better outcomes with treatment than patients whose
dysphagia was linked to other issues. (1) In
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 important. Treatment at The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR
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 plus tactics for swallowing safety during meals. 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) The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR offers research based and
clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic
spinal manipulation.
CONTACT The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR
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 Colorado Springs chiropractic appointment soon.