Sitka 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 rotate your head quite as easily or as far as you used to or that you don’t flex or extend it like you once could. Degenerative discs and vertebrae and associated osteophytes contribute to limiting movement. Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka is here to help your neck motions with gentle chiropractic treatment!
CERVICAL SPINE MOTION
Physiological motion of the spine sounds like something good, does it not? 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 aging spines of older folks? Decreased movement has been related to aging. A recent study by some curious 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 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 Sitka chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in seeing motion changes. Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka offers gentle Cox® Technic treatment in order to bring as much motion 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 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 happens in these vertebrae based on information from following patients’ osteophytes for 9 years. (2) We know our Sitka 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 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 Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Shay Corbin on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains the effective, gentle treatment with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his musician patient experiencing neck and back pain.
Make your next Sitka chiropractic appointment with Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-flexible cervical spine, your immobile neck to our clinic. We can work toward improved mobility!
