Help from Moriarty Chiropractic for Cervical Spine Myelopathy: From Diagnosis to Gentle Care

When everyday tasks start feeling harder — buttoning a shirt, holding a cup, walking steadily — your neck may be at the root of it. Together, these may be early warning signs of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) [aka cervical spine myelopathy (CSM)] — a condition that's often missed until it becomes harder to treat.

WHAT IS CERVICAL MYELOPATHY?

DCM occurs when the spinal cord in the neck becomes compressed due to age-related changes like bone spurs, thickened ligaments, or disc degeneration. Unlike a basic pinched nerve, spinal cord involvement is more serious — and regrettably, it often remains unknown for months or even years.

WHY EARLY DIAGNOSIS IS SO IMPORTANT

A 2022 case report and literature review published in Cureus emphasized just this challenge. Trager and colleagues made the case that the chiropractic office is a natural first checkpoint for DCM — where red flags get identified, neurological screening gets done, and referrals happen at the right time. (1) The takeaway? Your chiropractor at Moriarty Chiropractic isn't just there for back pain — our Nashua chiropractic practice may be the first provider to catch something more serious. Chiropractic physicians undergo vast training in diagnosis, neurology, and musculoskeletal medicine — including orthopedic and neurological examination, imaging interpretation, and knowing when to manage, co-manage, or refer. Your chiropractor can start piecing together the picture before a specialist ever enters the conversation.

CONSERVATIVE CARE HAS A ROLE — WHEN APPROPRIATE

Not every cervical spine condition requires urgent surgery. A 2025 study in the North American Spine Society Journal found that physical therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture are all employed in managing cervical spine conditions, with various patient and provider factors guiding which route is chosen. (2) For milder cases, conservative management may be a reasonable starting point — but only when the diagnosis is clear and the severity is correctly assessed.

One gentle option worth having knowledge of is Cox® Technic — a specialized, evidence-informed chiropractic method that uses a segmented table and gently controlled, low-force flexion-distraction movements. For the right patients, it offers a way to address cervical spine symptoms without the forceful manipulation that concerns some folks. It's not right for every case, but in the hands of a trained chiropractor, it denotes the kind of thoughtful, personalized care that can make conservative management a viable first step.

The medication conversation is one worth having thoughtfully and with full detail.56 A 2026 retrospective cohort study in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience compared gabapentin to NSAIDs for cervical radiculopathy, stressing that treatment choices have real safety and utilization implications. (3)

THE BOTTOM LINE, IN Nashua: CONTACT Moriarty Chiropractic

Early diagnosis opens doors. It allows for informed conversations about whether conservative care, referral, or co-management is the right way to go — before the window for some options shuts.

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares two cases of cervical spine myelopathy and their management along guidelines for management and referral that coincide with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

If you have neck-related neurological symptoms, don't brush them off. Get checked out. Schedule your Nashua chiropractic appointment today.