West Des Moines Chiropractic Care for Cervical Spine Conditions and Related Dysphagia (swallowing trouble)

Many West Des Moines people suffering from neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical spine disease conditions wonder how it might impact your swallowing ability. Dysphagia is the technical term for difficulty with swallowing. While cervical spine conditions may have an impact on your pharynx and its swallowing function, it is valuable to know just how and why this occurs. Let’s, Executive Chiropractic of Iowa 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 component, pain stemming from 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 lead to 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 move food as it moves through your mouth and throat by disrupting normal 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) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa wants our West Des Moines cervical spine pain patients to be aware of such issues.

The Importance of Proper Treatment

The ability to swallow affects one’s 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 reported that, fortunately for these patients, those who have spine-related dysphagia had better outcomes with treatment than those whose dysphagia was linked to other issues. (1) In 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 essential. Treatment at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa 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 improve strength and range of motion in the neck muscles as well as tactics for swallowing safety when eating. Electrical stimulation has been found beneficial in targeting specific areas of weakness related to impaired tongue motion or jaw closure while also promoting increased blood flow throughout the neck region. (4,5) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa offers research based and clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic spinal manipulation.

CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa

There may not be a quick fix for this problem—treatment typically takes some time—and with patience and commitment you can get the results you want with personalized care tailored specifically for your needs. Schedule your West Des Moines 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."