Tonawanda Cervical Spine Motion, Osteophytes, and Agings Effect
Aging gets blamed for a lot of ills…including limited neck movements. You’re not alone if you discover that you do not turn your head quite as easily or as far as you once did or that you don’t flex or extend it in the same way as you once could. Degenerative discs and vertebrae and associated osteophytes play a role in limiting movement. Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation is here to help your neck motions with gentle chiropractic treatment!
CERVICAL SPINE MOTION
Physiological motion of the spine has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? It does! In the cervical spine, researchers have noted how a consistent sequence of cervical segmental contributions work when the neck moves. This sequence is common in 80-90% of young healthy persons. But what about the motions in aging spines of older folks? Reduced motion has been connected to aging. A newer study by some curious researchers set out to determine if such consistent neck motions in elderly asymptomatic persons resembled the motions in asymptomatic young persons. They didn’t. They found that aging - as demonstrated by the motion patterns seen in elderly asymptomatic persons - was linked to a loss of consistent motion patterns that were seen in young asymptomatic persons. For example, the consistent pattern in young asymptomatic persons was found in only 10% of the older persons at T1 and 0% at T2. (1) As our Tonawanda chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in seeing motion changes. Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation delivers gentle Cox® Technic treatment in order to allow as much motion to spinal segments as possible. If you see limitations in your neck motions, let us know! We can look for the usual sources that may be the cause.
WHAT COMES WITH AGING THAT LIMITS NECK MOTION: Osteophytes
Osteophytes are frequently seen in elderly folks’ vertebrae of the lumbar and cervical spines. Anterior osteophytes keep developing and eventually bring about neck pain or back pain. Since osteophytes are so common and lead to such pain, researchers found a way to predict the mean time to onset of pain and the course of degeneration that occurs in these vertebrae based on information from following patients’ osteophytes for 9 years. (2) We know our Tonawanda chiropractic patients with osteophytes aren’t as curious as to how long ago their osteophytes started, but rather how our chiropractic care can help! Here’s an interesting case involving osteophytes and relieving chiropractic care: Osteophytes may cause the development of dysphagia (aka difficulty with swallowing). A case report presented a 53-year-old woman with a sore throat, difficulty swallowing solid foods, and acid reflux. Her imaging revealed anterior osteophytes as well as kyphosis (abnormal curvature) of her cervical spine and thoracolumbar scoliosis, any of which could impact her dysphagia. Six months of chiropractic care calmed her issues. (3) Chiropractic care works!
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Shay Corbin on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the effectiveness and gentleness of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his musician patient dealing with neck and back pain.
Make your next Tonawanda chiropractic appointment with Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-mobile cervical spine, your immobile neck to our clinic. We can work toward better mobility!
