While becoming a senior has its advantages, such as discounts at the movies and the early bird special at the local diner, there are also a number of disadvantages such as forgetting where you put your keys and pretty much every part of your body hurting. In many cases, seniors simply learn to live with the pain they experience and that often prevents them from seeking out treatment for their pain. Older adults tend to believe that there is nothing that can be done for their pain but in most instances that is not the case. While seniors may have to live with more pain than their younger counterparts, that doesn’t mean there is nothing that can be done to help lower their pain levels.
In a study published in the US National Library of Medicine, 5,357 adults were surveyed and 732 adults of varying ages were identified as dealing with chronic lower back pain. Of the total number of 21-44 year olds surveyed, 6.5% were found to have chronic back pain while 12.3% of those 65 or older were found to have back pain. Additionally, older adults had more severe pain and longer symptom duration. Despite the higher rate of chronic back pain, older adults only sought care 80% of the time, while those ages 44-64 sought care almost 90% of the time. Seniors were less likely to seek out treatments such as bed rest, spinal manipulation, heat/cold treatments, electrical stimulation, and massage therapy. Older adults were also found to be less likely to use anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, strong narcotics, and antidepressants.
There are some seniors out there who believe that they shouldn’t receive chiropractic care due to their age. However, there is strong scientific evidence available indicating that there are no health risks in receiving chiropractic care and in most cases chiropractic is much safer than surgery and prescriptions. Chiropractic offers a wide range of benefits, especially for those over the age of 65. These benefits include pain relief, increased range of motion, increased balance and coordination, decreased joint degeneration, increased health and well being, decreased incidence of falling, and helping to keep seniors out of nursing homes. Chiropractic is especially effective for seniors due to the wide range of abnormalities it can treat, all of which originate in the spine and the surrounding soft tissues. Doctors of Chiropractic are specifically trained to identify and treat misalignments of the vertebrae and their subsequent effect on the central nervous system.
If you or someone you know is over the age of 65 and are suffering from back pain, give Advanced Chiropractic & Rehab a call today at (330) 726-7404 to schedule a free consultation to see how we can help. We have been servicing the Youngstown and Mahoning Valley area since 2001 with convenient locations in Boardman, Hubbard, and Kinsman. At Advanced Chiropractic & Rehab, we are a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation group that treats work comp injuries, whiplash, sports injuries and specializes in much more than just lower back pain.