Chiropractic and Seniors

Have you ever wondered if chiropractic is safe for seniors? I love this question because the answer is a resounding YES! Chiropractic and seniors go together like peanut butter and jelly….It just works! I love working with seniors and love seeing the results they experience. My oldest patient to date is 104 years old! I have many patients that are in their 80’s and above. Let take a look at some of the benefits that seniors experience from chiropractic care.

Pain relief

Just like all age groups, chiropractic care is famous for getting people out of pain, even seniors. Seniors tend to experience pain from arthritis, degeneration and other age related conditions. These pain symptoms associated with aging are caused by a lack of mobility in the joints that are affected. Chiropractic adjustments restore motion to the joints. More motion means less pain!

Posture Improvement

Have you ever seen someone walking down the street that is totally hunched over and looking at the ground as they walk? We call this nursing home posture and it has very negative affects on your health. We  can help correct and prevent this type of posture with regular, specific chiropractic care. See some of my previous blog posts on posture to see how it maintaining great posture is essential to overall health at any age. Posture Blog

Improved Balance

There are many factors that affect ones balance. If your spine and pelvis are out of alignment it will have a negative affect on y our balance. Balance is a very important concern for people as they age. Check out these stats on falls:

• When an elderly person falls, their hospital stays are almost twice longer than those of elderly patients who are admitted for any other reason.
• Annually, falls are reported by one-third of all people over the age of 65.
• Two-thirds of those who fall will do so again within six months.
• Falls are the leading cause of death from injury among people 65 and older.
• Approximately 9,500 deaths in older Americans are associated with falls each year.
• More than half of all fatal falls involve people 75 or over.
• Among people aged 65 to 69, one out of every 200 falls results in a hip fracture. That number increases to one out of every 10 for those aged 85 and older.
• One-fourth of seniors who fracture a hip from a fall will die within six months of the injury.
• The most profound effect of falling is the loss of functioning associated with independent living.

Keeping the body aligned to prevent falls will pay dividends over the years.

Increased Quality of Life

With less pain, more mobility and better balance life gets better! Seniors are able to continue doing the things that make them happy. My older patients still play with their grand kids, garden, exercise and enjoy life. My goal for all of my patients regardless of age is to maintain the lifestyle they enjoy and stay as active as possible. It’s so rewarding to see seniors full of life and energy.

A final note on the safety of chiropractic for seniors. Many people wonder if it safe for someone to get adjusted if they have osteoporosis, muscle wasting or if they are frail in their appearance. The answer is yes, it is safe. I have many different techniques to adjust people of all shapes, sizes and ages. Nothing we do ever hurts and most people report feeling better almost immediately.

If you are a senior and would like to see how chiropractic can help you, please give me a call I would love to be your chiropractor!

Yours in health,

Dr. Steven Bourdage