It's raining seniors

It's raining seniors... In a manner of speaking.

Are you a senior? Do you know any seniors? Are there any seniors that are close to you that you may be concerned about? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are not alone and statistics show that you are within 90% of the entire population. :) I am of course kidding, but my topic today: "Falls" is no laughing matter. Here are some REAL statistics:

Annually, 40% of older Americans over 69 y/o  fall at least once. That's almost 1 in every 2 seniors falling. The cost of falls is alarming. Up to $30 billion!  Add to that the fall out from falls (pun intended :) musculo-skeletal injuries, broken bones and the emotional scars, and falls seem to be an important event to avoid.

If you think those stats are bad, here are some more which will knock your socks off (metaphorically of course.) Studies show that there are 4 predictors for seniors going from living independently to living in a long term care situation. They are: Urinary incontinence; Dementia; Social Isolation and, you guessed it: Falls and fall related injuries.

Of course there are so many reasons a person, senior or junior, may fall. These include factors such as overall physical health, vision hazards, environmental slip and trip hazards and of course strength and balance.

If you know anything about me, you know I love to bring you information from the studies that have been done by greater minds. I love to see the evidence, and while doing my research for this article, I found a study looking at recommendations for fall prevention. Here are some of the expert recommendations: EXERCISES, GAIT STABILIZATION, vision assessment, medication assessment, and supplementation including one of my favorite vitamins: VITAMIN D.

So, as usual, I know what you are thinking: Dr. Shepherd, what do seniors and falls have to do with you? Well, (also as usual,) i'm glad you asked!  Seniors need to understand their risk of falling and the importance of maintaining their balance. Fortunately, a visit to your local chiropractor (like me,) may be all that is required. "Computerized dynamic posturography," - testing offered by your local physical medicine doctor such as a chiropractor, is an easy way to determine balance, postural sway and fall risk. Once the assessment is made, specifically tailored rehabilitation exercises can help patients at risk of falls to be safer. This presents an outstanding balance and fall risk solution.

If this speaks to you or makes you think of someone you know, please feel free to reach out to us in office we are happy to help in any way that we can.

Disclaimer: Please remember that it's impossible to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of our articles. I'm superwoman it's true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. We appreciate you.

Could your feet be causing your back pain?

A lot of our patients complain of back pain. For many of our patients pain in the low back can be a sign of dysfunction in another area such as the feet, knees, hips etc. Interestingly, back pain may be one of the only indicators that there is a problem in another area. For example, there may be no foot pain even though the feet are the root of the problem causing the back pain.

For many patients, even though they experience no actual foot pain, over time the ligaments in the foot may become over-stressed and over-stretched and may become permanently deformed. Once over stretch damage is done to certain types of connective tissue such as ligaments, tendons and fascia, they do not return to their original shape.

What does this mean for feet? Over time the arches that support the foot, and essentially the whole person, sag and may even collapse. This may of course result in foot pain, knee pain, hip pain and or back pain.

The good news is that in addition to treatment by your physical medicine provider, custom orthotics can be used to provide support for an arch that has collapsed or that has started collapsing. Usually wearing custom orthotics 75-80% of the time can be a permanent form of treatment and support. Patients may have custom orthotics to fit every pair of shoes and may even purchase shoes, sandals and flip flops with custom orthotics already built in.

In our office we provide patients with the opportunity to have their feet scanned by our state of the art scanner to see if orthotics are appropriate for them. If orthotics are in fact recommended, we offer the convenience of sourcing them through our office. In some cases, orthotics may be fully or partially covered by patient's insurance plans.

Do you want more information? Call us today to schedule a no obligation consultation to see if your feet could be the root of your pain problem. 

*Please remember that it's impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I'm superwoman it's true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. We appreciate you.