Baton Rouge Chiropractic Care for Cervical Spine Conditions and Related Dysphagia (swallowing trouble)

Many Baton Rouge people suffering from neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical spine disease conditions wonder how it might affect your ability to swallow. 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 that would occur. Let us, Spine & Sports Rehab Center 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 originating in the neck can affect your ability to identify what’s in your mouth, resulting in difficulty knowing when to swallow which may lead to issues like choking or coughing during meals. On the motor side of things, cervical spine pain conditions might also disturb your ability to move food as it moves 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 linked to increased risk of aspiration (inhaling food particles) due to reduced laryngeal elevation that normally occurs during swallowing. (1) Spine & Sports Rehab Center wants our Baton Rouge cervical spine pain patients to be aware of 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 reported that, lucky 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 important. Treatment at Spine & Sports Rehab Center typically starts with 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 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) Spine & Sports Rehab Center deliveres research based and clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic spinal manipulation.

CONTACT Spine & Sports Rehab Center

While there isn't necessarily a quick fix for this problem—treatment typically takes several weeks—and with patience and commitment you can get the results you want with personalized care tailored specifically for your needs. Schedule your Baton Rouge chiropractic appointment soon.

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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."