Slips and falls and aging; how to reduce the risk of falling with chiropractic care.

Falls in an older or elderly person can have devastating consequences. A broken hip, wrist, shoulder, or elbow may be a result or in the worst cases, a head injury.

Conventional wisdom suggests that as someone gets older and has an increased likelihood of falling a walker, helper, or wheelchair may be the best risk avoidance method to help prevent injury. Unfortunately, these options often lead to a further loss of use, poorer balance, and eventually, an eventual loss of muscle tone, bone density, and further dependence.

It is well understood that less activity reduces bone density, increasing the likelihood of a fracture after a fall. It is also understood that muscle tone changes aks sarcopenia in the elderly however, continued exercise can help maintain muscle tone, and function and be good for cardiovascular health too.

Warning signs of gait problems should not be ignored

Signs of gait dysfunction are present when we are younger and often, they are misunderstood and conditions requiring specialists to treat. Classic examples are plantar fasciitis, shin pain, back pain, neck pain, hip pain and many conditions commonly addressed in doctor’s offices that are referred for physical therapy, injections, or other painful conditions.

As these patients age, the evidence shows us that they develop arthritic knees, back, and shoulders, and often these same patients become candidates for hip or knee replacements.

The medical profession has gone away from a model of primary care to a model of symptomatic care that passes you from specialist to specialist and often watches as your gait, the mechanism that propels us worsens over time.

There is always a mechanism behind why this happens and it is often unique to us, so why can’t most doctors see what is clearly in front of them?

Worse, we as a society have normalized this as a byproduct of aging when mechanical problems worsen with age. The result is worsening balance, damaged joints, and worsening overall health as we reduce our mobility.

There is another alternative and there are seniors who maintain their health, and activity while reducing their likelihood of falls and injuries using natural means. They live well into their 90’s without needing a walker, or having problems getting out of a chair or rolling out of bed.

The worst thing healthcare providers can do is make problems more chronic. Unfortunately, it is the norm, more than the exception to the rule. Treating symptoms as we age while ignoring the underlying malfunction is an epidemic. Ironically, our healthcare system ranks poorly when compared to many other countries, while we spend so much more.

Think chiropractic first to walk and move better naturally.

Does health care need to be expensive, risky, complicated, and require you to be on numerous medications?

The irony is that patients who regularly use chiropractic care move better, walk better, and feel better at a lower cost.

Part of this is that seeing a chiropractor is often the one-stop shop for reducing pain, improving mobility, learning exercises, and improving your gait.

Choosing chiropractic when you are younger helps you function better so years later, your joints age better with you.

Gait training is something we often perform on older patients to help them improve how they move while improving their balance.

While some neurologic diseases can affect balance, few people have these, and chiropractors routinely do not look at function and confuse it with disease processes. Perhaps this is why so many patients with neuropathies, some diabetics walk better, feel and function better too.

Often, when a problem has existed for years and has become chronic, the damage done to joints is irreversible. I have often said to patients; I wish I saw you 20 years ago so I could have been more effective. Too often, their medical providers have not referred them as they did not understand the problem causing the damage even though it was evident.

The solution is to see the chiropractor first. The chiropractor will refer them to a medical provider if necessary. Many years later, your body will thank you by helping you play with your grandkids, and be more effective. Your later years can have fewer falls and injuries, less pain, and more adventurous travel.

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