San Jose 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 don’t turn your head quite as effortlessly 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 contribute to limiting movement. Chiropractic Solutions is ready to help your neck motions with gentle chiropractic treatment!
CERVICAL SPINE MOTION
Physiological motion of the spine has a nice ring to it, does it not? 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 common 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 newer study by some curious researchers designed a study 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 as 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 San Jose chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in noting motion changes. Chiropractic Solutions 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 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 vertebral bones of the cervical and lumbar spines of elderly folks. Anterior osteophytes continue developing and eventually provoke neck pain or back pain. Since osteophytes are so common and produce such pain, researchers determined a way to predict the mean time to onset of pain and the path of degeneration that occurs in these vertebrae based on data from following patients’ osteophytes for 9 years. (2) We know our San Jose 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 concerning osteophytes and relieving chiropractic care: Osteophytes may contribute to patients’ developing 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 resolved her issues. (3) Chiropractic care works!
CONTACT Chiropractic Solutions
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.
Make your next San Jose chiropractic appointment with Chiropractic Solutions. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-mobile cervical spine, your stiff neck to our clinic. We can work toward improved motion!
