Over the last 29 years in chiropractic practice, I have been not only humbled, but honored to take care of many of the seniors who took care of me, feed me, taught and looked out for me over all these years. Here are Top five reasons that seniors seek chiropractic care. While many of the seniors are unaware of the benefits of regular chiropractic care, here is the top reasons in no particular order; pain relief, increase range of motion in the spine/extremities, improve balance and coordination, decrease joint degeneration and lastly improved overall health and well-being. We will go over one at a time, explain some of the details and benefits through chiropractic care.

1. Reduce pain. Chiropractic care is extremely effective and not only producing pain but it's very safe to treat many spinal related conditions in the golden years. Chiropractors are trained to specifically identify and treat misalignments of the spine that not only improve nerve function, reduce the need for medication without many of the undesirable side effects. When your spine is out of alignment, it disrupts the flow of communication between the brain and the rest your body. This miscommunication can cause and lead to pain and then the pain with overtime becomes a very chronic problem.  While aches and pains seem to be very natural and normal as we get older, they don't have to be. Experienced chiropractors can gently and precisely adjust the spinal misalignment and restore this communication relieving and reducing the pain that often comes with aging.

2. Increase range of motion.  I adjust the spine area mostly, but often times in the shoulders, hips and knees. During the aging process, joints and muscles become stiff and “stoved up” we lose mobility, range of motion during lifting, bending and twisting not only your grandkids but many activities of daily living that can reduce your quality of life. Most times following a chiropractic adjustment, range of motion improves immediately, and this is one of the top reasons that many athletes use chiropractic to improve the function of the joints.  It doesn't matter if you're a beginner or just want to work in the yard or chase your grandkids,  the more that you improve the motion of the spine the easier you'll be able to move and function in many of your general activities of life.

3. Increase balance and coordination. Many of the problems with coordination and balance are a  result of previous injuries and degenerative changes in the cervical and lumbar regions.  According to the Centers of Disease Control and prevention falls are responsible for over 90% of 850,000 bone fractures that occur among Americans past the age of 65.  Fall injuries are extremely prevalent in the elderly population and are one of the most detrimental events that can occur in the older individual.  Structures in the spine have what they call mechanical receptors which are located in the back part of the joints and responsible for providing essential brain input for coordination and balance. These mechanical receptors in the neck provide input on the position of a head in relation to your body.  With age, these mechanical receptors don't function as properly as they should which results in poor sense of awareness or proprioception. To compensate for this lack of proprioception, the legs become further apart, your steps are uneven/shuffle and length shortens creating in balance and impairment and your body tries to compensate. Your brains ability to know your position is reduced and becomes reliant on vision which can also be a problem as we age. Chiropractic research is showing that specific chiropractic adjustments can restore balance and coordination to these mechanical receptors of the neck and back region. Regular chiropractic care can improve your posture (hunch and forward head tilt) which also increases balance. Seniors feel more in control and enjoy the things in their life without reducing quality of life experiences.  

4. Decrease joint degeneration. Just like when the tire of your automobile is out of alignment, the tread  wears evenly… that's the same thing that can happen when your spine that is out of alignment or subluxated. These misalignments cause the spine wear prematurely, get bone spurs and osteophytes.  This degenerative process while some say is normal, I believe that if the body is in proper alignment there's a lot less chance for you to have that the general population. Just as your car needs a regular tire alignment, same thing goes for your spine.  Periodically regular chiropractic care decreases spinal degenerative arthritis by normalizing and improving the proper alignment, decreasing stress on the joints and improving overall joint function.

5. increased health and well-being.  Many of the responses that I hear from my patients once they're out of pain is… that I feel so much better, I can sleep through the night, I can lift my grandkids, walk for miles, plant in my garden and I have so much more energy. When you're able to enjoy and participate in the other things in your life by increased joint motion, decreased pain, better balance, less stress/wear on the joints you're able to enjoy life so much more. Chiropractic care can be a major part of feeling good, improving your health and looking forward to doing the activities worked your whole life for. So regular chiropractic care is aimed at improving the quality of your life and adding years to your life and life  to your years. This is not only by just reducing pain and correcting the soft tissue stiffness ,so  don't miss out on living life as you want one . Thanks for reading, Dr. Joe.