Aging Folks Need Chiropractic Too!

Last week one of my elderly patients came in for chiropractic assessment. She is 90 years of age. She had woken up with a stiff neck and felt quite uncomfortable.  I examined her spine and found her to be quite subluxated, or out of alignment, in her low back and cervical spine.  She commented that she did not bother going in to her medical doctor. She was sure he would just comment that due to her age there probably wasn’t much that could be done, and that it was common to have such a problem.

I recall another elderly patient I saw years ago who came in for leg pain. While  examining him I noticed that he was not able to turn his head to the left. When I asked him how long his neck had been so severely limited in range of motion, he replied that it happened over 30 years ago, following an automobile accident.  At that time his medical doctor informed him that there was nothing that could be done for his range of motion, and that he would just have to get used to the reduced motion of his neck.

Good Alignment Means Good Range of Motion

Today’s chiropractic is so safe for the elderly. Whether with gentle manual technique or with adjusting instruments, such as the Activator or Arthrostim,  we now can gently move vertebra in the aging spine.

Last week I adjusted my 90 year old patient, and did so again this week,. She is now experiencing a return of normal range of motion and a reduction in pain. I expect that by next week her condition will be successfully resolved.

Many years ago the elderly gentleman with the severely reduced range of motion in his cervical spine experienced a complete return of normal range of motion with one gentle chiropractic session. Needing just one session is more unusual, but it was wonderful to see the look in his eyes when he sat up, and suddenly was able to turn his head completely over his left shoulder. He had been driving for over 30 years without being able to turn his head to the left!

Just Because You are Older Does not Mean You Can’t Get Better

So many times elderly patients report to me that their symptoms are not taken seriously by their families  or clinicians because of their age.  Yet, the elderly person is often very responsive to good care.   If you are aging, or if your parent is aging, do not assume that an uncomfortable symptom can not be relieved. With safe, gentle therapies, more often than not, the condition can be  corrected.