McHenry 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 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 companion osteophytes play a role in limiting movement. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is ready to help your neck movements 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 connected to aging. A recent study by some inquisitive researchers designed a study 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 associated with 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 McHenry chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in feeling motion changes. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic delivers gentle Cox® Technic treatment in order to allow as much motion to spinal segments as they’ll allow. 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 elderly folks’ vertebrae of the lumbar and cervical spines. Anterior osteophytes continue growing and eventually bring about neck pain or back pain. Since osteophytes are so usual and result in 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 McHenry 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 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 impact her dysphagia. Six months of chiropractic care resolved her issues. (3) Chiropractic care works!
CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
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 McHenry chiropractic appointment with OrthoIllinois Chiropractic. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-flexible cervical spine, your stiff neck to our clinic. We can work toward improved mobility!
