Seniors and Chiropractic

I am often asked who should see a chiropractor, to this I answer everyone. Everyone should have a chiropractor as they have a family physician, dentist and optometrist.

One group of people who would particularly benefit from chiropractic care are our seniors. There are 3 major reasons seniors benefit from chiropractic care.

 

  • Pain reduction

– As we age the prevalence of chronic neck, back and joint pain increases typically due to more wear and tear related osteoarthritis. Chiropractic care has been shown to reduce neck and back pain.

 

  • Improved range of motion

– By using manual chiropractic treatment movement to the spine, hips, shoulders and knees can be improved enabling you to lose the stiffness in your joints that prevent or hinder you from performing the daily tasks you need to do and the recreational or social activities you enjoy doing.

 

  • Reduce your risk of falling
  • As we age we have an increased risk of falling and suffering serious injury as a result. Things like reduced leg strength, flexibility and co-ordination can increase our risk of falling.

As a chiropractor I will assess your fall risk using a 14 point test, provide strategies to prevent falling and provide treatment that helps to improve your balance. Lastly there are particular exercises that can easily be done at home that can improve balance, increase leg strength and thus reduce the risk of falling

 

As a chiropractor I will also help to manage/monitor other co-existing conditions that are more common as we get older.

For my senior patients who have high blood pressure I will periodically check their blood pressure and report to their family physician should something be amiss.

For patients who are diabetic, I will regularly assess their lower limb neurological function to monitor for neuropathy and the presence of emerging musculoskeletal conditions.

For patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD(Chronic bronchitis/emphysema) chiropractic treatment of the mechanics of breathing ( rib cage, back, chest and neck musculature ) may improve breathing function and overall sense of well-being related to their condition.

Did You Know That November Is Osteoporosis Month?

I have decided that the topic of this blog should be osteoporosis. For one November is Osteoporosis Month. Secondly, after being in practice for 17 years a number of patients who started care with me at the beginning when they were middle aged are now seniors, retiring looking forward to travel, increased leisure time, time for hobbies and continued physical activity. For some however osteoporosis or decreased bone density may limit what they would like to do.

Osteoporosis which often gets mistakenly used interchangeably with osteoarthritis, is most commonly a condition related to aging and most commonly in women, men and those in younger age ranges can also be affected however.

With osteoporosis the amount of bone is diminished, this occurs without any symptoms until a fracture occurs which results in a great deal of pain and disability. If you imagine the inside of your bone looks like a sponge you might use for cleaning, there is a framework of sponge material with a lot of holes. Your bone is obviously a stronger, harder framework than sponge but the appearance is similar, now imagine an osteoporotic bone, there would be less sponge and bigger holes, thus a weaker structure more prone to fracture.

Areas typically fractured are the hips, wrists and mid/upper back. So who’s at risk, women of Caucasian or Asian heritage, slight build, early menopause, diabetics, those on corticosteroid medications for inflammatory lung conditions or bowel conditions. Those are factors that are hard to modify, avoidable risk factors, things that can reduce your bone quantity are things like; smoking, alcohol use, caffeine use, soft drinks and inactivity.

So what can you do? You can’t change being a senior woman of Caucasian ancestry, you can ensure that you have adequate calcium intake ( 1500mg/day), Vitamin D intake 1000-2000iu/d be active performing regular weight bearing activity, walking is great, but don’t forget things like resistance training or weight training and balance exercises like Tai Chi or yoga. Limit falling risks around the home, wear good footwear use walking sticks (like cross country ski poles).

This is all reasonable once you get to be older and at risk, my challenge is not only to my senior patients but also their daughters and granddaughters. Why? Simply the amount of bone you acquire prior to the age of 30 is your peak bone mass, the more you acquire by that age the more you have to lose as you age before you’re at risk. Bank not only your savings for retirement, but your bone. Encourage our younger women to be active and build their bone mass.

Links

www.osteoporosis.ca      for more osteoporosis information

www.chiropractic.on.ca     for fall prevention strategies

The Truth About Compression Garments

 

You may have noticed watching a sporting event, whether it be basketball or a running event, the athletes seem to be returning to longer socks. This most likely is not a fashion choice but one of performance enhancement.

Previously compression garments were worn by people who were having poor venous return, i.e. poor circulation in the legs causing reduced blood return resulting in bulging varicose veins, swelling in the legs and feet. Compression socks or hose are graduated elastic garments that have stronger compression at the feet and reducing as they go up the leg or thigh, this acts to push the blood up the leg and return it to the circulation, reducing swelling and blood pooling in the veins. Older individuals, people who stand for long periods, pregnant women and pilots/air cabin personnel are those who typically are prescribed these garments.

Recently there has been a large increase in athletes wearing these types of garments, whether they are socks, compression hose, sleeves or shorts and tights. The rationale for the use of these garments in athletes is similar however the mechanism is not well understood. Athletic use of compression garments appears to improve such things as; jump performance, joint awareness thus improved performance of a sport movement, increased blood flow to the muscles, joint warmth and reduced post exercise soreness. There may be a role in compression garments in injury recovery as well.

At the office we carry a number of compression garments for both scenarios: poor circulation, those who have standing occupations ( assembly line workers, General Motors, warehouse employees, Costco, etc) and for athletes looking for a boost in performance or exercise recovery.

If you are interested in learning more about compression garments, feel free to contact me at https://yourpickeringchiropractors.ca, 905-831-3939, on Twitter @drkevinfinn, Facebook drkevinfinn

How To Pick The Right Backpack For Your Child’s Back

We are approaching what some parents term, “ the most wonderful time of the year”, when the kids go back to school.

With this however is back to school shopping for paper, binders, pencil crayons and the inevitable backpack.

For some, the kindergartners this is their first one, the first time in their life they need to carry something.

For others, the tweens and teens it is fashion, popularity it needs to be this years “it” bag.

In all cases it is a bag to carry stuff to and from and around school and given that they will wear it for 10 months of the year it needs to work, it needs to fit and when you check some of the prices it needs to last.

Some simple rules of thumb, weight for the younger kids the kindergartners, the bag and its contents should not weigh more than 10% of their weight, for the older kids not more than 15%. Weigh the bag from time to time and go through it to edit accumulated junk.

The size of the bag should be proportional to the size of the child’s back, thus a teen’s bag is too big for a first grader.

Bags should have 2 well padded and adjustable straps, no messenger bags, ideally there will be some padding on the back of the bag that is in contact with the body and there are straps to fasten in the front either at the chest or the waist or both, and they should be encouraged to be used. The bag should be worn on both shoulders, and snug enough so that only a hand’s breadth can be slipped between the bag and the child’s back.

The bag should be loaded so that heavier items are closest to the body, and lighter or bulkier items to the front. Some bags have compression straps to tighten the load in the bag to keep it tighter to the body.

Lastly for younger children put the bag over both shoulders for them or have them place the bag on a table so they can put it on without stooping. Older kids remind them that if they want to be able to play their sports or participate in their extra-curricular activities, little things like not using the right muscles to pick up their bag might mean the difference between watching their team and playing with them.

To review:

  1. Pick an appropriate sized bag, made of good materials and have adjustable straps.
  2. Not more than 10-15% of the child’s body weight should be in the bag
  3. Load it properly
  4. Put it on properly

If your children are complaining of back pain after returning to school, drop in to the office I’m sure we can help. Contact us at https://yourpickeringchiropractors.ca 905-831-3939, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

Heads Up

Heads up

This blog topic comes about as a response to a conversation with a patient who was recently in a rear end collision and wondered if there was anything she could have done to lessen the impact.

A rear end collision typically results in what most people know as “whiplash”, or in the literature, “WAD” ( whiplash associated disorder), technically whiplash is acceleration injury, in this case your body accelerating and decelerating rapidly. Your neck in this action performs a hyperextension ( bending backwards) followed by hyperflexion (bending forwards), this rapid action can injure the muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints of your neck and upper back.

As far as what can be done to lessen the impact, not too much, things like tensing or relaxing prior to impact appear to have little effect. Being female in some studies indicates a longer recovery as does older age.

Headrests are in some studies a factor and not in others. In those where it is a factor most people do not have the headrest high enough to stop the head/neck’s hyperextension movement or their head was too far from the headrest in their normal driving position.

Therefore to err on the side of caution have the headrest up so the top of the headrest is at or above your head, your head should be as close as possible to the headrest when driving.

So, take 2 minutes the next time you get in the car and heads up for safety.

Headrest in this picture is too low, the top of the head is above the headrest, and the head is too far in front of the headrest.

1

In this picture the headrest is in the correct position and the head is close to the headrest

2

 

Hamstring Tear

If you have been watching the world cup in Brazil as rabidly as I have you’ve seen a number of players pull up on a run or after a kick clutching the back of their leg, classic sign they’ve suffered a hamstring injury.

Ever wonder where that term came from, it does sound odd, but the name came from butchers who would hang pigs from those muscles, the ham portion meant the bend at the knee and the string part from the obvious string-like feel of the tendon portion that attaches these muscles to the lower leg at the knee. If you reach behind your knee they are quite easy to feel.

These muscles functions are to bend the knee, many of  you have done “hamstring curls” at the gym lying on your stomach bringing heels to buttocks.

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that attach to the bottom of you pelvis, the bones you sit on, your thigh and finally just below the knee.

The hamstrings are often tight and as the opposing muscles to the powerful quadriceps on the top of your thigh, the muscles that straighten the knee, they are often injured  when sprinting or when quickly stretched, i.e. as we’ve seen in the World Cup stretching to kick or reach the ball.

Risk factors for injuring a hamstring are varied but include, lack of flexibility, muscle imbalance between quadriceps and hamstrings, inadequate warm-up, age, fatigue (perhaps one of the issues with World Cup athletes) and previous injury to the back, knee or hamstring. Most often the injury is in the buttock area or middle of the muscle, if you suspect you’ve injured a hamstring, stop your activity and ice the area for a 10/10/10 protocol or 10minutes ice, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes ice every hour to 2 hours.

In office treatment will include electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, soft tissue therapy and spinal manipulation.  As a chiropractor we see increased hamstring tightness following injury/irritation to your lower spinal joints, so ensuring your spine motion is optimal is an important part of treatment and as a preventative measure.

Rehabilitative exercises to be done at home are important and include some gentle stretching and as pain and range of motion improves,  static strengthening ( without movement) and dynamic strengthening ( with movement)

Below are a few examples of simple home exercises to stretch and strengthen the hamstrings. If you have questions or want more information please don’t hesitate to contact me at drkevinfinn.ca

The hamstrings are important muscles you may recall when I blogged about girls and Knee ACL injuries and there are more exercises in the FIFA11 soccer exercise protocol.

Gentle stretching examples   

HAMSTRING STRETCH – SUPINE

While lying on your back, raise up your leg and hold the back of your knee until a stretch is felt.

How to Pick out a Bike Helmet

With spring finally here a lot of you myself included are looking forward to getting out on your bike. Nothing beats having the wind at your back as you go for a ride.

Now I know when we were young we didn’t wear bike helmets so why would I wear one now? Good question,  we also thought the world was flat and  that bed rest was good for back pain, things that are totally counter-intuitive now.

You’ve got a head worth protecting and no matter where you ride whether on the road, the mountain bike trails,( www.durhammountainbiking.ca ) BMX Park  (  http://www.joyride150.com) or just the local bike path, you should wear a helmet to protect your skull, head injuries are no fun.

Now a bike helmet no matter how expensive or cushiony will not prevent a concussion, but a concussion is better than a skull fracture.

Hopefully I’ve convinced you that a bike helmet is a good idea, where do you go from here? Do you need to spent lots of $$$$, for a helmet?

The short answer is no, inexpensive helmets have the same safety rating as more expensive ones, a concept opposite to motorcycle helmets. The added cost usually comes with better fit, more adjustability, graphics, better ventilation, visors etc.

Once you find a helmet that you like, the fit is very important it should sit so that most of your forehead is covered, a finger’s breadth or two above the eyebrows. The chin strap must be buckled, but not the same way a NHL hockey player’s chin strap flops around it should only have a finger width between your chin and the strap. The strap will form a triangle that point to the floor.

A helmet is garbage if you’ve fallen and hit your head, or is more than 6 years old, get a new one.

Enjoy the summer on two wheels, see you on the trails.

For more tips check Durham Public Health

http://www.durham.ca/departments/health/injury_prev/bikeSafetyChecklist.pdf

Girls and Knee Injuries

As the spring finally arrives, many of your girls will be returning to the field to participate in soccer programs.

If your daughter is like mine and is going through puberty, or about 12 or more, they are at a much greater risk of injuring their ACL ( anterior cruciate ligament) of the knee than boys of a similar age in a similar sport. The reasons for this are not yet clear but may relate to hormone changes, physical growth changes, body mass , most research is now focussed on differences between boys and girls and the neurological control they have of their bodies.

The ACL is a primary stabilizer of the knee, its main function is to prevent excess forward motion of the tibia or your lower leg and if damaged increases instability of the knee joint and seriously limits activity and may require surgical repair and long periods of rehabilitation.

Most commonly these injuries occur during soccer and basketball, the motions most likely to cause the injury are landing from a jump and cutting or changing direction quickly.

What can be done to help prevent this injury in our girls?

Warm up and training exercises that focus on strengthening muscles of the thighs and lower legs, exercises called plyometrics that focus on jumping and landing from jumps.

Girls using these exercises in training can significantly reduce their risk of suffering these injuries.

Teachers, coaches and parents can learn more about how to prevent these injuries by completing a program on line called KIPP, here http://kipp.instituteforsportsmedicine.org/