Toronto 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 find that you do not rotate your head quite as effortlessly or as far as you once did or that you don’t flex or extend it like you once could. Degenerative discs and vertebrae and associated osteophytes play a role in limiting movement. Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre 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? Reduced motion has been related to aging. A recent study by some inquisitive researchers set out to determine if such consistent neck motions in asymptomatic young people were the same in elderly asymptomatic persons. They didn’t. They concluded 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 Toronto chiropractic friends and family age along with us, we’re not alone in noticing motion changes. Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre offers 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 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 keep developing and eventually bring about neck pain or back pain. Since osteophytes are so usual and result in 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 Toronto 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 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 contribute to her dysphagia. Six months of chiropractic care calmed her issues. (3) Chiropractic care works!
CONTACT Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre
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 dealing with neck and back pain.
Make your next Toronto chiropractic appointment with Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. Bring your aging spine, your less-than-mobile cervical spine, your stiff neck to our clinic. We can work toward better mobility!
