A new study came out in the Journal of the American Medical Association that showed that people in chronic pain have a greater risk for falling compared to with less pain.
Data analysis revealed that compared with study participants who reported no pain, the participants who experienced chronic pain in two or more joints had a 50 percent greater risk of falling.
My thought is this: When people have pain in a joint, or pain in the soft tissues that surround that joint, there is also dysfunction. The body needs good function in the joints in order to know where it is in space. The body needs good function for good balance. If a joint has poor awareness in its position, the body’s nervous system will not know when to catch itself when it sways. the nervous system is constantly watching out for and correcting balance problems. The nervous system uses the joints to get this feedback.
Our results suggest that pain should be added to the list of risk factors for falls, as persons who have chronic pain in two or more joints, and those who have moderate to severe pain or disabling pain, are at significantly higher risk,” says Leveille. “Assessment and management of chronic pain is a key part of health care for many older adults.”
I suggest that if you have pain in your spine, you should certainly keep yourself well-adjusted with chiropractic care. If you have pain or stiffness in the legs or arms, you should also manage this with a chiropractor, as there are things we can do to help restore the proper function of the joint.
Todd Lloyd, DC
Chiropractor in Sonoma
Great article Todd, I hope you don’t mind me taking all your great content and publishing it to my audience.
Share it freely, Ned. It’s good stuff that people need to know about.
Todd.
Good Afternoon Todd–
Wonderful blog post about this study that came out in JAMA. Did you know the lead author Suzanne Leveille, used data gathered as part of MOBILIZE Boston, a cohort study headquartered at the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife? The principal investigator, Dr. Lipsitz was also named Boston Magazine’s Top Geriatrician. We also have osteoporosis studies that you may be interested in reading.
You should follow us on twitter at twitter.com/H_SeniorLife as we post information on our latest research and scientific papers.
Thanks Christina. I’ll add you to my follow list. That guy above, Ned Macarthur is a good one to follow too.
Todd
Great blog Todd. Great content..
Thanks Scott!
Chiropractic care is extremely important for the elderly adult because of the dramatic changes that occur in the spine with increasing age. As we age, spinal discs, facet joints, ligaments, muscles and other spinal tissues become weaker, less hydrated, more fibrotic, and less able to withstand normal stresses. As a result, spinal pain from spinal degeneration (arthritis) becomes more prominent, tissue injury from relatively benign events occurs, and the time to heal from injuries increases.