La Grande Chiropractic Care for Cervical Spine Conditions and Related Dysphagia (swallowing trouble)

Many La Grande cervical spine-related pain (like neck pain, stiffness, or other degenerative cervical spine disease conditions) sufferers are curious 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 important to understand just how and why that would occur. Let’s, Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC 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 entails both sensory and motor components. When it comes to the sensory part, pain originating in the neck can impede your ability to identify what is in your mouth, resulting in difficulty determining when to swallow which can lead to issues like choking or coughing while eating. On the motor side of things, cervical spine pain conditions might also interfere with your ability to move food as it goes through your mouth and throat by disturbing normal tongue, jaw, and hyolaryngeal motions (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. Furthermore, cervical spine disorder has been associated with increased risk of aspiration (inhaling food particles) due to decreased laryngeal elevation that normally occurs during swallowing. (1) Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC wants our La Grande cervical spine pain patients to know about such issues.

The Importance of Proper Treatment

The ability to swallow impacts one’s 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, fortunately for these patients, those who have spine-associated dysphagia had better outcomes with treatment than patients whose dysphagia was linked 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 essential. Treatment at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC typically involves 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 designed to increase strength and range of motion in the neck muscles as well as strategies to swallow safely when eating. 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) Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC offers research based and clinically experienced relieving treatment modalities along with chiropractic spinal manipulation.

CONTACT Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC

There may not be a quick fix for this problem—treatment typically takes several weeks—with patience and commitment you can get the results you want with individualized care tailored specifically for your needs. Make your La Grande chiropractic appointment today.