Carrolltown Chiropractic Tip: Practice Balance Every Day !
“I’m just not as balanced as I used to be.”
This is not an uncommon conversation starter at Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation from our Carrolltown chiropractic patients and/or their family members. Balance is crucial to avert falls and associated issues that may come with it…like breaking something! Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation offers some news about fall prevention and balance enhancement with spinal manipulation and balance practice.
BALANCE AND AGING
The 50s bring some hard to ignore changes especially in relation to 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 of age who didn't have any problems with walking found that 20.4% couldn’t perform a 10 second one-legged-stand which tended to intensify the risk of all-cause mortality. (1) Failing the 10 second balance test was related to an 84% greater risk of dying within in the study period (12 years). This observational study did not state cause/effect but suggested a link, a link that may encourage middle and older age folks to practice standing on one leg daily! To be safe, Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation urges standing near to a tall chair to catch yourself if necessary. If you can only do 2 seconds today, keep practicing. You’ll improve as you practice! (2) Once you add a few seconds, you’ll keep practicing! Proprioception exercises may help, too!
MORE ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRACTICE BALANCE
A research project compared how known “fallers,” “nonfallers,” and young volunteers did on a force plate gauging test for postural sway. None differed in transfer of weight. Younger volunteers decreased postural sway within 2 seconds while older ones never did and swayed the same the whole time. Older “fallers” swayed significantly more. This specially made one-leg-stance test determined the “fallers” better – 100% - than other more common ways 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 Carrolltown chiropractor in evaluating baseline balance.
ROLE OF CHIROPRACTIC MANIPULATION IN MOVEMENT CONTROL
A recently 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 reducing 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 realize how well we can enhance your balance!
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Nate McKee on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes relieving chiropractic care and re-establishing balance via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for patients with spinal stenosis.
Make your Carrolltown chiropractic appointment today. We look forward to seeing how much better balanced you are!
