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 wonder how it might impact your swallowing ability. Dysphagia is the technical term for swallowing problems. While cervical spine conditions may have an impact on pharyngeal swallowing function, it is important to know just how and why this occurs. Let us, Johnson Chiropractic and our Richmond 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 affect your ability to sense what’s in your mouth, resulting in difficulty determining when to swallow which may result in issues like choking or coughing during meals. 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 disturbing usual tongue, jaw, and hyolaryngeal movements (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 associated with increased 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 impacts your 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 reported that, fortunately for these patients, those who have spine-related dysphagia had better outcomes with treatment than those whose dysphagia was related 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 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 strategies for swallowing safety during meals. Electrical stimulation has been found 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 deliveres 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—with patience and dedication you can get the results you want with personalized care tailored specifically for your needs. Schedule your Richmond chiropractic appointment today.