Many Williamson people suffering from neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical
spine disease conditions may be surprised to learn
how it might affect your ability to swallow.
Dysphagia is the technical term for swallowing problems.
While cervical spine conditions may affect pharyngeal swallowing function, it is important to know
just how and why this occurs. Let us,
Apple Country 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 component, pain stemming
from the neck can impede
your ability to identify what’s in your mouth,
resulting in difficulty determining when to swallow
which can lead to issues such as choking
or coughing while eating. On the motor side of things, cervical
spine pain conditions might also disturb your
ability to process food as it goes through your mouth
and throat by disrupting normal tongue, jaw, and
hyolaryngeal motions (the movement of the hyoid bone, the bone
that holds 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 increased risk of aspiration (inhaling food
particles) due to decreased laryngeal elevation that normally
occurs during swallowing. (1) Apple Country Chiropractic wants our Williamson
cervical spine pain patients to be aware of such issues.
The Importance of Proper Treatment
The ability to swallow impacts your
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, lucky for these patients, those who have spine-related
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 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 important. Treatment at Apple Country 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 as well as strategies to
swallow safely 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) Apple Country Chiropractic deliveres research based and
clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic
spinal manipulation.
CONTACT Apple Country Chiropractic
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
personalized care tailored specifically for your needs. Schedule
your Williamson chiropractic appointment soon.