Richmond Cervical Spine Motion, Osteophytes, and Agings Effect

Aging gets blamed for a lot of ills…including limited neck movements. You’re not alone if you find that you don’t rotate your head quite as effortlessly or as far as you once did or that you don’t flex or extend it like you once could. Degenerative discs and vertebrae and companion osteophytes play a role in limiting movement. Johnson Chiropractic is ready to help your neck movements with gentle chiropractic treatment!

CERVICAL SPINE MOTION

Physiological motion of the spine sounds like something good, does it not? It does! In the cervical spine, researchers have described how a consistent sequence of cervical segmental contributions function when the neck moves. This sequence is typical in 80-90% of young healthy persons. But what about the motions in aging spines of older folks? Reduced movement has been linked to aging. A newer study by some inquisitive researchers set out to see if such consistent neck motions in elderly asymptomatic persons resembled the motions in asymptomatic young persons. They didn’t. They found that aging - as demonstrated by the motion patterns seen in elderly asymptomatic persons - was associated with loss of consistent motion patterns that were seen in young asymptomatic persons. For example, the consistent pattern in young asymptomatic persons was found in only 10% of the older persons at T1 and 0% at T2. (1) As our Richmond chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in noticing motion changes. Johnson Chiropractic delivers gentle Cox® Technic treatment in order to bring as much movement to spinal segments as they’ll allow. If you see limitations in your neck motions, let us know! We can examine you to find the usual culprits that may be the cause.

WHAT COMES WITH AGING THAT LIMITS NECK MOTION: Osteophytes

Osteophytes are commonly seen in elderly folks’ vertebrae of the lumbar and cervical spines. Anterior osteophytes keep developing and eventually bring about neck pain or back pain. Since osteophytes are so common and lead to such pain, researchers found a way to predict the mean time to onset of pain and the course of degeneration that happens in these vertebrae based on information from following patients’ osteophytes for 9 years. (2) We know our Richmond chiropractic patients with osteophytes aren’t as curious as to how long ago their osteophytes started, but rather how our chiropractic care can help! Here’s an interesting case concerning osteophytes and relieving chiropractic care: Osteophytes may cause the development of dysphagia (aka difficulty with swallowing).  A case report presented a 53-year-old woman with a sore throat, difficulty swallowing solid foods, and acid reflux. Her imaging revealed anterior osteophytes as well as kyphosis (abnormal curvature) of her cervical spine and thoracolumbar scoliosis, any of which could impact her dysphagia. Six months of chiropractic care calmed her issues. (3) Chiropractic care works!

CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic

Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Shay Corbin on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains the effectiveness and gentleness of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his musician patient dealing with neck and back pain.       

Schedule your next Richmond chiropractic appointment with Johnson Chiropractic. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-mobile cervical spine, your immobile neck to our clinic. We can work toward improved mobility!