Chiropractic Care for Seniors



Posted: Thursday, June 25, 2009

by
Steven R. Jones, D.C.

When I first opened my chiropractic office in San Diego in 1993, I was 28 years old. Like most people in their 20's, I had preconceived ideas regarding older patients. Of course, when I was 28, an "older" patient was anyone over 40. Regardless of how "old" they were, they had the same complaints of neck pain, back pain and headaches that my younger chiropractic patients deal with. Now that I am in my forties I realize how distorted my thoughts on "older" were! That being said, I have always enjoyed the "older" patients in my practice. During my time in practice, I have found that most patients end up being patients because of de-conditioning (O.K., lack of exercise). This is true especially for older patients and it is often complicated by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Chiropractic care is able to provide great relief for these conditions. However, the problem of insufficient exercise must be addressed as well.

The skeletal system is basic. The individual bones come together, separated by a cartilage pad, to form a joint. The joint is stabilized and moved by ligaments and muscles. With time and specific injuries, the cartilage pads begin to wear down, ligaments weaken, muscle weaken and lose their ability to stretch and the bone deteriorates / becomes arthritic. These processes cause instability of the joint which often makes exercise difficult and painful. We have several means by which we can control this process and prevent further wear and tear.

Exercise is very important in providing relief from joint pain. That old saying "move it or loose it" is right on the mark. Exercise will strengthen the muscles and provide stability that the joint has been lacking. Joint stability is vital for smooth, pain free motion.

Nutritional support also helps slow deterioration of the joints. Proper nutritional support such as that found with MSM, Glucosamine and Chondroiten can greatly help extend the useful life of a joint. Additionally, nearly 80% of the people who take these nutritional supplements for joint pain get a noticeable level of relief of their pain within 90 days of consistent supplementation.

Chiropractic care also helps provide relief for "older" joints as well. Chiropractic adjustments break down un-necessary scar tissue that hampers normal joint motion. Chiropractic care also gives pain relief through a complex neural reflex and muscular relaxation through a simple, local spinal reflex.

A combination of exercise, proper nutrition and chiropractic care can help breath new life into "older" joints. The bottom line is that regardless of your age you don't have to resign to living with neck pain, back pain or headaches when your local chiropractic is well trained to provide you with drug-free relief.

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice. Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs. www.JonesPainRelief.com www.ErgoNav.com

This Article has been viewed 33 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Mark Ste. Marie
 2 years 230 days ago.
12 fans.
Good information to people with pain relief needs. Thanks.
 
Mark
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.