Manahawkin 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 realize 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 companion osteophytes contribute to limiting movement. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center is here to help your neck movements 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 typical in 80-90% of young healthy persons. But what about the motions in older persons with aging spines? Reduced motion has been linked to aging. A recent study by some curious researchers designed a study to determine if such consistent neck motions in asymptomatic young people were the same in elderly asymptomatic 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 Manahawkin chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in feeling motion changes. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center delivers gentle Cox® Technic treatment in order to bring as much movement to spinal segments as possible. If you notice limitations in your neck motions, let us know! We can examine you to find the usual culprits 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 continue growing and eventually produce neck pain or back pain. Since osteophytes are so usual and lead to such pain, researchers found a way to predict the mean time to onset of pain and the path of degeneration that occurs in these vertebrae based on information from following patients’ osteophytes for 9 years. (2) We know our Manahawkin chiropractic patients with osteophytes are not as curious as to how long ago their osteophytes started, but rather how our chiropractic care can help! Here is an interesting case concerning osteophytes and relieving chiropractic care: Osteophytes may cause the development of dysphagia (aka difficulty with swallowing). A case report detailed the presentation of 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 contribute to her dysphagia. Six months of chiropractic care calmed her issues. (3) Chiropractic care works!
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Shay Corbin on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the effective, gentle treatment with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his musician patient experiencing neck and back pain.
Schedule your next Manahawkin chiropractic appointment with Manahawkin Chiropractic Center. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-flexible cervical spine, your stiff neck to our clinic. We can work toward improved mobility!
