Many researchers believe Chiropractic adjustments can actually help you maintain balance and prevent you from falling over.
1 particular study in New Zealand investigated whether Chiropractic care could improve brain function and thus prevent falls.
The researchers found 60 older adults to participate in this Randomized Control Trial. They randomly assigned 50% of participants into a group that would receive Chiropractic care, and the other 50% was in the control group so they didn't receive any Chiropractic treatment throughout the trial.
One of the outcome measures they looked at was the choice stepping reaction time (this means that they had to step a foot by choice because of a stimulus). Participants stood on a platform that had 4 panels that could light up. When a panel lit up, they had to stand on it as quickly as possible. They then measured the time taken for a person to react and step onto that panel.
After 4 weeks neither group changed much at all in the speed at which they could take a step. But after 12 weeks there was a dramatic and significant improvement. The end result was actually a 2.5 times greater improvement in the reaction time with 12 weeks of chiropractic care compared to the results of a similar study that measured stepping reaction time after 6 months of specific exercises to try and improve the same measure.
Why is this important? Because researchers have shown that being able to take a quicker step results in less falls!
It’s important to note that for the changes to occur, it took more than 4 weeks of chiropractic care. This suggests that chiropractic care has a cumulative effect, and it can take time for some nervous system changes to take place. So if you’re of an older age, don’t expect Chiropractic to immediately improve your ability to avoid falls, but overtime you should definitely expect some change.
It’s also been shown that the older we get, the worse we are at integrating sight and sound together, and those who fall often are particularly bad at this. It’s because they can’t respond appropriately if they face a hazard like a slip or a trip. So the researchers also measured this as an outcome. After 4 weeks the chiropractic group had gotten better at processing sound and visual information, and after 12 weeks there was even better results.
No one else has been able to improve this kind of multi-sensory processing before so this is a pretty amazing result! Especially because we know how important it is in preventing falls.
Another outcome measure assessed was joint position sense in the ankle. After 12 weeks of chiropractic care, the participants became significantly better at knowing where their foot was in space compared to the control group. This is so important because if your brain doesn’t know what’s going on in regards to your ankle joint and it’s position, then it doesn’t know what’s happening if you’re slipping or falling and thus it can’t enable you to “catch” yourself.
Interestingly in this study the Chiropractors didn’t actually touch their ankles, they simply adjusted their spines. This means that restoring proper spinal movement seems to improve the way their brains and ankles communicated; improved their brains ability to process sound and visual information; and enhanced their ability to take a compensatory step. To top it all off they even felt better physically too.
Chiropractic care is an essential cornerstone of healthy aging. By restoring proper spinal function, your brain is better able to perceive what’s going on in and around you. Get adjusted today to help maintain and even improve your overall function, health, and quality of life.
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