Many of us have loved ones or whom themselves, fit into the older demographic. Our much-loved seniors are an age group who have wisdom, knowledge and a body that has enabled them to live, love, laugh and play. However, this age group presents its own unique challenges and is often under recognised.
Innocuous statements like “she had a fall” can mean something totally different for a 2-year-old than for a 82 year old. This is not a clumsy movement from which she can easily recover but can be very serious and in fact life threatening.
We have an ageing population in many Western nations, including Australia. Unless older adults have being working to preserve balance, flexibility and strength, falls can become more likely with time. Medication, muscle loss and nervous system impairment can be attributing factors. Falls account for more than 80% of injury-related hospital admissions in people older than 65 years, and they are the leading cause of injury-related death in older adults. (1).
It varies from person to person, but nervous system function declines with age.
Our brain processes impulses more slowly and the number of nerve cells in the brain decreases. Nerves from our brain to our periphery have slower impulses resulting in decreased sensation, slower reflexes, decreased balance and strength.
BUT……very interestingly our very clever bodies also do the following as we age.
The brain has more cells than it needs to function normally from which we can afford to lose some. This redundancy of cells may help compensate for the loss of nerve cells that occurs with aging. The brain also actively compensates for the age-related decrease in nerve cells by making new connections between the remaining nerve cells. We also produce new nerve cells. Some areas of the brain may produce new nerve cells, especially after a brain injury or a stroke. These areas include the hippocampus (which is involved in the formation and retrieval of memories) and the basal ganglia (which coordinate and smooth out movements).
The chiropractic adjustment works through your joints, muscles, and fascia. It provides a large input into your nervous system (sensorimotor function). Falls are often caused by a breakdown in sensorimotor function that can occur with age and a loss of proprioception (brain knowing where your body position is).
Dr Kelly Holt, a chiropractor and researcher has recently published a study which supports that regular chiropractic adjustments assist to improve function in older people. It also suggests that these adjustments improve the brain’s ability to know where the body is in space (1). This is significant in reducing loss of balance and prevention of falls.
Further to this, studies show that chiropractic care improves the quality of life of this population. Quality of life is vitally important in the ageing population and that demographic doesn’t want just to live long, they want to live WELL. It has often been said that “the aim of chiropractic is to add years to life and life to years”.(2)
So what is the take home message from this information
Chiropractic care can help improve function in older people, with a possible impact on their overall health and quality of life. We should encourage older adults to get checked!
Those of you who come in our practice whom are ageing… you are doing yourself an amazing service and self care by getting regular chiropractic adjustments!!!
Which senior person in your life would benefit for a boost to their nervous system??
Karen Phillips
(1) Synopsis of Research article “Chiropractic care improves function in older people (ASRF) published 26th April 2016
(2) Article Chiropractic Care and Quality of Life in Older Adults (ASRF) Published July 4 2018
