New York City Chiropractic Care for Cervical Spine Conditions and Related Dysphagia (swallowing trouble)

Many New York City people suffering from neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical spine disease conditions are curious how it might impact your swallowing ability. 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 valuable to recognize just how and why that would occur. Let’s, Rosenberg Wellness Center and our New York City 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 part, pain originating in the neck can interfere with your ability to identify what is in your mouth, resulting in trouble knowing when to swallow which may result in issues such as choking or coughing during meals. On the motor side of things, cervical spine pain conditions might also interfere with your ability to move food as it moves through your mouth and throat by disrupting usual tongue, jaw, and hyolaryngeal movements (the movement of the hyoid bone, the bone that supports the tongue). Therefore, there may be trouble clearing food debris from your mouth after each bite or sip. Furthermore, cervical spine disorder has been linked to heightened risk of aspiration (inhaling food particles) due to decreased laryngeal elevation that commonly occurs during swallowing. (1) Rosenberg Wellness Center wants our New York City 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 source of the swallowing trouble. Researchers are fine-tuning their evaluation of patients with swallowing issues. (2) A recent study documented that, fortunately for these patients, those who have spine-associated dysphagia had better outcomes with treatment than patients 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 return to safe eating habits, proper treatment is important. Treatment at Rosenberg Wellness Center 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 meant to increase strength and range of motion in the neck muscles as well as strategies to swallow safely during meals. Electrical stimulation has been reported 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) Rosenberg Wellness Center offers research based and clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic spinal manipulation.

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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 New York City chiropractic appointment today.