Chiropractic Treatment for Seniors

Regular Chiropractic Treatments: The Key to Aging Healthy

As the average American lifespan keeps increasing, many accept the physical and mental signs of aging as inevitabilities. Millions of elderly Americans are plagued by problems such as arthritis, confusion, balance issues, poor vision and falls resulting in injuries. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case. Complementary and alternative healthcare using regular chiropractic treatments can greatly help many of the above problems. When provided by a qualified chiropractor, like Dr. Weigle at Absolute Health Chiropractic in Gainesville, FL, chiropractic care assists older people in enjoying pain-free movement and good health.

Balance

As we age, we tend to have more and more difficulty with balance. This is due to several factors, such as inner ear problems and degeneration of sections of the cerebellum, the brain area responsible for balance. Vertigo is a common result of these issues. Fortunately, chiropractic care is excellent for preserving and restoring balance function.

Chiropractic adjustments help nerve signals to travel freely, ensuring that all parts of the body are communicating properly with the brain. This aids in proprioception, the sense of body position. Close your eyes. You probably know exactly where your left hand is in space. Even without seeing it, you can “feel” your hand’s position. This sense is critical for proper balance and is strengthened with both adjustments and chiropractic physiotherapy.

Regular chiropractic care may help keep you active at any age.

Falls

It’s an unfortunate truth that falls are a frequent hazard for the elderly. Balance problems, arthritis, confusion and restricted movement all contribute to fall risks. Although hip fractures are the most frequent serious injury resulting from falls in older people, even direr trauma can occur. This includes head injuries that may lead to cerebral hemorrhage or even death.

Again, chiropractic care can help to reduce the risk of falls through promoting good balance. Also, if there is some functional deficit that is impeding proper walking, like knee issues or vision difficulties, chiropractic adjustments and physiotherapy can help address those as well.

Arthritis

Although arthritis can affect people of any age, it is probably the single symptom most closely associated with getting older. Traditional medicine often doesn’t have a lot to offer for severe arthritis cases, other than strong painkillers that may be addictive or come with many side effects. Surgery can sometimes be an option, but this route is very invasive and results are never guaranteed.

Happily, chiropractors are trained and very experienced in treating arthritis. Adjustments, both to the spine and directly to the affected joint(s), aid in reducing pain in a natural, non-invasive manner. Moreover, other treatment modalities, like specialized exercises, reduce inflammation and allow for freer, more natural joint movement. A trained chiropractor can also make invaluable recommendations as to diet changes and natural nutritional supplements to ease arthritis.

Poor Vision

As people age, their eyesight deteriorates – right? Sure, but the process is not always irreversible. Although glasses may help, there comes a point where poor visual acuity has a major impact on daily life. However, chiropractic can often help.

When the eyes have poor or restricted blood supply, they don’t work properly. Chiropractic treatments excel at restoring proper blood flow in a safe manner. This can help to gradually improve vision or at least slow or stop visual degeneration.

Medication Control

Many elderly Americans are on a variety of prescription medications. Some of these may be quite necessary, but oftentimes a person is taking so many medications that the drugs begin to interact with each other and unintended side effects result. Also, polypharmacy, or the use of multiple drugs to treat a single condition, is a frequently seen situation. This can be quite dangerous, as it leaves plenty of room for dosage confusion and overmedication.

Proper and regular chiropractic treatment can often reduce the need for some prescription medications, if approved by a physician. Additionally, your chiropractor will never add a prescription medication to your regimen. Instead, chiropractic focuses on natural treatments, healthy diet and appropriate exercise, without the use of pharmaceuticals.