Elgin Cervical Spine Motion, Osteophytes, and Agings Effect

Aging gets blamed for a lot of ills…including neck motion changes. 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 did. Degenerative discs and vertebrae and associated osteophytes play a role in limiting movement. Connected Chiropractic is here to help your neck motions with gentle chiropractic treatment!

CERVICAL SPINE MOTION

Physiological motion of the spine sounds like something good, doesn’t it? It does! In the cervical spine, researchers have described how a consistent sequence of cervical segmental contributions function when the neck moves. This sequence is typical in 80-90% of young healthy persons. But what about the motions in aging spines of older folks? Decreased movement has been linked to aging. A newer study by some inquisitive researchers set out to see 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 Elgin chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in noting motion changes. Connected Chiropractic delivers gentle Cox® Technic treatment in order to allow 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 sources that may be the cause.

WHAT COMES WITH AGING THAT LIMITS NECK MOTION: Osteophytes

Osteophytes are commonly seen in elderly folks’ vertebrae of the lumbar and cervical spines. Anterior osteophytes keep developing and eventually produce neck pain or back pain. Since osteophytes are so usual and produce such pain, researchers determined a way to predict the mean time to onset of pain and the course of degeneration that happens in these vertebrae based on data from following patients’ osteophytes for 9 years. (2) We know our Elgin 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 is an interesting case involving 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 showed 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 resolved her issues. (3) Chiropractic care works!

CONTACT Connected Chiropractic

Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Shay Corbin on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains the effectiveness and gentleness of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his musician patient experiencing neck and back pain.       

Schedule your next Elgin chiropractic appointment with Connected Chiropractic. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-flexible cervical spine, your stiff neck to our clinic. We can work toward better motion!