How Chiropractic Benefits Elderly Patients

The aging process can cause a variety of conditions and health issues that mostly occur to the elderly. From chronic pain, arthritis, loss of mobility, and other issues, as a person get older, many health complications can affect individuals, however, senior citizens have found that chiropractic provides some great benefits for the older demographic.

Improved Range Of Motion

Regular chiropractic care has been shown to increase spinal range of motion as well as in the extremities. Limited range of motion can occur due to age or inactivity, sometimes a combination of the two.

An improved range of motion can allow elderly patients to actively engage with their environment. Increased range of motion is one of the most common and necessary benefits of chiropractic treatment.

Preventing Joint Degeneration

When there’s a spinal subluxation, or misalingment, it can cause other areas of the body to also become misaligned and compensation of movement can create further issues for these individuals. Additionally, this can result in an abnormal wearing down of the joints. Over time, the joints can degenerate, becoming painful, causing difficulty in mobility and flexibility.

Chiropractic care is a very effective treatment for decreasing the degeneration of the spine and even other joints. When the body is in proper alignment it no longer has to adapt through postural compensation. This reduces stress on the spine and joints while relieving pain and restoring mobility.

Symptoms Relief

Chiropractic has long been recognized for its effectiveness in providing drug-free pain relief for back pain to headaches and arthritis. While pain medication and anti-inflammatory drugs only temporarily relieve the symptoms, chiropractic can treat the complication at the source and relieve the pain for good.

Spinal alignments and other chiropractic techniques help to relieve pain for a variety of issues, not just back and neck pain. What’s more, chiropractic does not have the undesirable, sometimes dangerous side effects that drugs can.

Increased Balance & Coordination

The aging process can have a significant impact on a person’s balance and coordination. This can have a variety of causes including degenerative changes to the spine, typically in the neck area. Injury to this area is another culprit.

There are special receptors that reside along the cervical spine in the rear of the joints. These receptors work to send vital messages to the brain regarding coordination and balance. When the spine and especially the neck are out of alignment, it can hinder how these receptors send and receive messages to the brain. The result is a condition called loss of proprioception, or sense of body awareness.

Elderly patients affected by this can be prone to falling, and such, can cause further issues for the individual.

Injuries from falling are one of the most common reasons elderly people visit emergency departments each year. Chiropractic can help realign the neck and spine, allowing the messages to move much easier, thus restoring balance and coordination.

Overall Health & Wellness

Proper spinal alignment can greatly benefit a person’s health, wellbeing, and even their mood. It allows them to become more active so they get exercise. They sleep better and have more energy.

An aligned spine also lets them more fully engage with their family, friends, and the world. They can get out and do things they were once unable to do and when they are active and happier the entire body benefits.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.sceniccitychiro.com

Insight

With age come a variety of natural, wear-and-tear conditions and unfortunately sometimes injuries which can cause difficulties for older adults. However, chiropractic has been demonstrated to benefit elderly patients, helping to increase their range of motion, decreasing the degeneration of joints and relieving painful symptoms. among other benefits.

For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.