It is commonly thought that as we get older, our balance gets worse. Reduced balance and stability can often lead to an increased risk of falling. The New Zealand Chiropractors Association (NZCA) has recently put out a media release talking about how there is growing research to suggest that chiropractic care can have a positive effect on balance in the older population. You can read the full release here, but I wanted to discuss a few of the key findings in this blog post. They are pretty amazing.
Falls are a major problem in the older population and are the leading cause of injury related hospital admissions and death in the over fifties. In 2014, 205,000 New Zealanders aged over 50 had an ACC claim accepted for a fall-related injury. This was a 20% increase since 2011.
Chiropractor and NZCA spokesperson Dr Cassandra Fairest has said that “A growing body of research suggests that chiropractic care may slow the rate of functional decline as you age, preserve your autonomy, improve your well-being and reduce accidents”.
The great thing about this research is that a lot of it is coming out of NZ. Dr Kelly Holt, Dean of Research at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic and his team recently published the results of a research study in New Zealand which has shown chiropractic care in a group aged 65-89 can significantly impact several factors that influence the prevention of falls. In the study, the participants of one group received 12 weeks of chiropractic care (there was also a control group who did not get chiropractic care). Here are the key findings:
What to make of this
This kind of research is great, especially due to the fact that it is coming out of little old NZ. These 3 main findings show that after 12 weeks of chiropractic care, it is likely that you can could have a reduced risk of falling. With the falling risk aside, having better ankle proprioception and the ability to process multiple lots of sensory information are all going to mean better function of the body. Who doesn’t want a better functioning body? This is just another reason as to why chiropractic care can be effective, over and above getting rid of ‘back pain’.
If you haven’t had a checkup in a while or want to have a chiropractic assessment and find out more, contact us to arrange a time. Your body will thank you for it.
References:
For full references please visit: http://prwire.com.au/short-link/nz-chiropractors-ready-to-play-part-in-reducing-harm-from-falls-1
Chiropractor and NZCA spokesperson Dr Cassandra Fairest has said that “A growing body of research suggests that chiropractic care may slow the rate of functional decline as you age, preserve your autonomy, improve your well-being and reduce accidents”.
The great thing about this research is that a lot of it is coming out of NZ. Dr Kelly Holt, Dean of Research at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic and his team recently published the results of a research study in New Zealand which has shown chiropractic care in a group aged 65-89 can significantly impact several factors that influence the prevention of falls. In the study, the participants of one group received 12 weeks of chiropractic care (there was also a control group who did not get chiropractic care). Here are the key findings:
- After 12 weeks, the group who received chiropractic care had increased ability in identifying where their ankle joint was when they closed their eyes. This is called proprioception and is how the brain knows where we are in space. It is fairly clear that if our brain knows where our feet are we will be able to have better control of our body (especially when walking) and therefore less risk of falls.
- They also found that those who received chiropractic care were able to take a step much faster than the control group not receiving chiropractic care. This is very important as being able to take a fast step to correct balance can assist in fall prevention.
- They also found that those who received chiropractic care were able to simultaneously process visual and auditory information more accurately in their brain. Dr Fairest said “This is known to be important and relevant when it comes to preventing falls. Science has shown that as we age we appear to lose our ability to process multiple lots of sensory information accurately and that this leads to distractions that may cause falls”.
What to make of this
This kind of research is great, especially due to the fact that it is coming out of little old NZ. These 3 main findings show that after 12 weeks of chiropractic care, it is likely that you can could have a reduced risk of falling. With the falling risk aside, having better ankle proprioception and the ability to process multiple lots of sensory information are all going to mean better function of the body. Who doesn’t want a better functioning body? This is just another reason as to why chiropractic care can be effective, over and above getting rid of ‘back pain’.
If you haven’t had a checkup in a while or want to have a chiropractic assessment and find out more, contact us to arrange a time. Your body will thank you for it.
References:
For full references please visit: http://prwire.com.au/short-link/nz-chiropractors-ready-to-play-part-in-reducing-harm-from-falls-1
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