Tonawanda Chiropractic Tip: Practice Balance Every Day !
“I’m just not as balanced as I once was.”
This isn’t an unusual conversation starter at Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation from our Tonawanda chiropractic patients and/or their loved ones. Balance is vital to avert falls and associated issues that may come with a fall…like breaking something! Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation offers some news about fall prevention and balance improvement with spinal manipulation and balance practice.
BALANCE AND AGING
The 50s bring some hard to ignore changes especially in terms of balance. Such changes in balance also boost the risk for falling and other health concerns. A study of 1702 people between 51 and 75 years old who did not have any problems with walking found that 20.4% could not perform a 10 second one-legged-stand which managed to increase the risk of all-cause mortality. (1) Not being able to do the 10 second balance test was associated with an 84% higher risk of dying within in the study time (12 yrs). This observational study didn’t declare cause/effect but proposed a link, a link that may encourage middle and older age folks to practice standing on one leg daily! To be safe, Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation recommends standing near to a counter to catch yourself if necessary. If today only 3 seconds are possible, keep practicing. You’ll do better over time! (2) Once you add a few seconds, you will keep practicing! Proprioception exercises may help, too!
MORE ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRACTICE BALANCE
A study compared how known “fallers,” “nonfallers,” and young volunteers did on a force plate gauging test for postural sway. None were different in transfer of weight. Younger volunteers reduced postural sway within 2 seconds while older ones never did and swayed the same the whole time. Older “fallers” swayed significantly more. This specially designed one-leg-stance test established who the “fallers” were better – 100% - than other more common tests to measure balance – five-times-sit-to-stand (69%), timed-up-and-go (48%), usual one-leg-stance without special parameters as in this research study (62%). (3) Tests like these are beneficial to your Tonawanda chiropractor in determining baseline balance.
ROLE OF CHIROPRACTIC MANIPULATION IN MOVEMENT CONTROL
A newly published paper described the benefit of (Cox®) flexion distraction spinal manipulation for lumbar spinal stenosis patients by improving their balance test scores - Timed Up and Go and Five Times Sit to Stand Test – and decreasing postural sway and entropy (forward/backward movement) as measured on a force plate. (4) That is so good! Between our in-office chiropractic treatments with Cox® Technic during office visits and in exercise sessions of practicing standing on one foot then the other at home, we will see how well we can enhance your balance!
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Nate McKee on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates relieving chiropractic care and re-establishing balance via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for patients with spinal stenosis.
Make your Tonawanda chiropractic appointment soon. We look forward to hearing how much better balanced you are!
