Chiropractic is beneficial for seniors

Movement is life. As we age, people often loose mobility, which leads to a loss of activity and negative effects on our health. Lack of mobility is usually the start of a downward spiral.  Look back at my blog post on the Sitting Rising Test (SRT).  This research showed a lack of mobility leads to a significant increase in mortality.  You can read the post here and try the test yourself. Maintaining mobility and function is therefore an important thing to consider as you age.  Chiropractic care is one way to help achieve this.  A study at the University of Iowa has found that chiropractic care can help older people stay active and healthy.

The study, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), looked at data provided by the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), a huge database that documents the health records of Medicare patients. The researchers looked specifically at patient reports of function, activity levels, and self-reported health outcomes in patients who visited a chiropractor and compared them to people who did not visit a chiropractor.

The results were very positive for those that had been under chiropractic care:

• Chiropractic care is significantly protective against 1-year decline in activities of daily living, lifting, stooping, walking, self-rated health, and worsening health after 1 year.
• Persons using chiropractic care were more satisfied with their follow-up care and with the information provided to them.

The authors concluded:

•  “This study provides evidence of a protective effect of chiropractic against 1-year declines in functional and [self-related health] among Medicare beneficiaries with spine conditions, and indications that chiropractic users have higher satisfaction with follow-up care and information provided about what is wrong with them.”

Chiropractic care is great for easing that annoying neck or low back pain you may be having, but research like this shows that it can be a great way of helping you stay fit, healthy and active as you age.  It is always easier to stay fit and healthy than try to regain it once it has been lost. If you or someone you know wants to try chiropractic care, or find out more, contact Elevate Chiropractic and we can see what we can do to help. 

References:

• Weigel PAM, Hockenberry JM, Wolinsky FD. Chiropractic use in the Medicare Population: prevalence, patterns, and associations with 1-year changes in health and satisfaction with care. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2014;37:542-551.