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Chiropractors help millions of maturing individuals regain control of their lives every year. Our treatments are designed to eliminate acute and chronic pain, increase flexibility, improve mobility and function, increase strength, enhance balance, and increase the overall quality of one's life.
Chiropractic care involves spinal and extremity adjustive techniques, physical therapies, soft tissue therapies, dietary and nutritional counseling, exercise and fitness counseling and many other safe and natural methods to improve health and prolong a vibrant and productive life. We can show you how to get the most out of your body so that you can get the most out of life!
This section of our site dealing with health issues of the maturing individual.
Included in this section is information on:
the spine and changes that occur with aging
how chiropractic can eliminate years of pain and discomfort while simultaneously enhancing health and wellness,
many prevalent health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's Disease,
exercise and fitness programs for the maturing individual dietary and nutritional concerns for the maturing individual
and much more.
A normal part of aging process involves the deterioration of tissues, especially those of the spine. This deterioration occurs with all individuals over time. The degree of the deterioration varies from individual to individual. The reasons for this are not fully clear, however, it seems that a history of spinal stress and abuse (such as years of hard labor or years of prolonged sitting) as well as inadequate spinal hygiene (lack of periodic spinal checkups) accelerates this deterioration process.
The intervertebral disc (the cartilaginous pad situated between the spinal vertebrae) is one of the spinal structures most affected by the deterioration process. Normally, movements of the torso draw water into the disc which results in the influx of nutrients essential to maintaining a healthy disc. Similarly, torsal movements assist in flushing out waste products from the disc. This constant movement of water into and out of the disc is what keeps the disc strong and healthy.
As we age, the tissues of the disc fibrose and become stiff. This fibrosis and stiffening reduces the ability of the disc to accept and eliminate water, and thus, obtain vital nutrients and eliminate noxious wastes. Individuals who subject their spines to prolonged stress, have had at least one back/neck/spinal injury, and who do not practice proper spinal hygiene significantly accelerate this process. This "dehydration" of the disc is often visible on x-ray as a loss of disc height, which is identified by a reduction in the distance between adjacent vertebrae. As the disc becomes dehydrated it also tends to bulge outwards, like a tire without adequate air. If severe enough, the bulging disc can compress or irritate nearby spinal nerve roots.
As the discs of the spine undergo these arthritic changes, the biomechanics of the spine are also changed. If the failing spinal biomechanics are left untreated, further degenerative changes occur. Other structures affected by the degenerative processes as well as the alteration in spinal biomechanics include the body of the vertebrae as well as the facet joints.
Both in the margins of the vertebral bodies and in the facet joints calcium becomes deposited. Over time the calcium ossifies which causes stiffness and loss of function in the tissue. This is seen on x-ray as "lipping" and "spurring" and enlargement on the edges of the vertebral bodies as well as facet joints. Frequently, these arthritic spinal changes lead to back and neck pain and stiffness, and are also responsible for extremity pain such as that shooting down the back of the leg. This commonly results from the bony compression or irritation of spinal nerve roots. In essence, relatively small spinal problems can snowball into serious spinal problems later in life.
Chiropractic treatments maintain motion in the spine which is vital to the health of the discs, joints and other tissues. Our treatments also optimize spinal biomechanics to minimize the stresses associated with the degenerative changes that occur with age. Your spine can be viewed much like any other moving structure in that the better you treat and maintain it, the longer it will freely operate problem free; if you abuse it or don't properly maintain it, it will wear out and break down.
Back pain or "arthritic back pain" is the most common ailment experienced in the aging population. This is typically the result of many years of uncorrected spinal stresses and injuries which have accumulated to become increasingly symptomatic. However, the risk of more serious disease does exist in the aging population. Thus, we strongly recommend individuals with back pain over the age of 40 schedule an appointment to at least rule out more serious causes which include spinal cancer, compression fracture and infection.
The chiropractic approach to treating back pain follows a "holistic" type course. The chiropractor is concerned with the patient's personal health goals. This plays an important role in designing an effective treatment plan which results in the wanted outcome. While evaluating the patients health disorder, the cause as well as all contributing factors which lead to the development of the condition will be sought. Once determined, this information will be combined with the health goals of the individual in order to design the safest and most successful treatment plan. There will also be a careful evaluation to rule out more serious causes of back pain in the aging; cancer, compression fracture, infection, etc.
The treatments utilized by chiropractors do not include drugs or surgery. Instead, safe and natural noninvasive methods of healing are utilized. These include spinal adjustive techniques, physical therapies, soft tissue therapies, exercise and stretching programs, diet and nutritional counseling, and lifestyle modifications. As stated above, these therapies are directed towards the root cause of the health condition. The result is safe, fast, effective long-term relief as well as the overall optimization of health and wellness. Treatments which focus solely on symptomatic relief are short lived, ineffective, and lead to patient frustration and dissatisfaction.
While not as prevalent as back pain, neck and head pain still affect a large percentage of the aging population. And similar to the back, tissues of the cervical spine undergo degenerative changes which accumulate over time eventually giving rise to headaches, neck pain and stiffness, as well as dizziness and balance problems.
The chiropractic approach to treating neck and head pain follows a "holistic" type course. The chiropractor is concerned with the patient's personal health goals. This plays an important role in designing an effective treatment plan which results in the wanted outcome. While evaluating the patient’s health disorder, the cause as well as all contributing factors which lead to the development of the condition will be sought. Once determined, this information will be combined with the health goals of the individual in order to design the safest and most successful treatment plan. There will also be a careful evaluation to rule out more serious causes of neck and head pain in the aging; tumors, temporal arthritis, infection, etc.
The treatments utilized by chiropractors do not include drugs or surgery. Instead, safe and natural noninvasive methods of healing are utilized. These include spinal adjustive techniques, physical therapies, soft tissue therapies, exercise and stretching programs, diet and nutritional counseling, and lifestyle modifications. As stated above, these therapies are directed towards the root cause of the health condition. The result is safe, fast, effective long-term relief as well as the overall optimization of health and wellness. Treatments which focus solely on symptomatic relief are short lived, ineffective, and lead to patient frustration and dissatisfaction.
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