Many Minster people suffering from neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical
spine disease conditions may be surprised to learn
how it might impact your swallowing ability.
Dysphagia is the technical term for difficulty with swallowing.
While cervical spine conditions may affect pharyngeal swallowing function, it is valuable to recognize
just how and why this occurs. Let’s,
Minster Chiropractic Center 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 part, pain stemming
from the neck can hamper
your ability to sense what’s in your mouth,
resulting in trouble knowing when to swallow
which can result in 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 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). As a result, there may
be difficulty 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 decreased laryngeal elevation that normally
occurs during swallowing. (1) Minster Chiropractic Center wants our Minster
cervical spine pain patients to know about such issues.
The Importance of Proper Treatment
The ability to swallow affects 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 documented
that, lucky for these patients, those who have spine-associated
dysphagia had better outcomes with treatment than those whose
dysphagia was related 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 again experience safe
eating habits, proper treatment is important. Treatment at Minster Chiropractic Center
typically starts with a thorough examination to determine the underlying
cervical spine issue followed by a treatment plan including
gentle spinal manipulation care (often in the form of Cox® Technic) and
exercises meant to increase 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 associated with impaired tongue
motion or jaw closure while also promoting increased blood flow throughout the
neck region. (4,5) Minster Chiropractic Center deliveres research based and
clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic
spinal manipulation.
CONTACT Minster Chiropractic Center
While there isn't necessarily 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. Schedule
your Minster chiropractic appointment today.