Sahred by: lifehabits@bodyzone.com

Aging Baby Boomers: The Chiropractic Opportunity



      Anti aging is a big button in 21st century America, one which 
is going

to get much bigger over the next few decades.  Every 8 seconds a 
baby boomer

turns 50, and many boomers don't want to stop "doing" as they age.  
An

increasingly popular view is that growing older isnžt necessarily 
feeling

old.  Many Boomers want to do whatever they can to stay active and 
young, a

desire fueling the growing demand for anything that promises anti-
aging.

Over the next 20 years, I expect this trend to only increase.



      The chiropractic profession has not yet seized this opportunity.  
A

simple and understandable truth is that chiropractic adjustments 
help keep

people active(1) and maintain full range joint motion(2).  The 
public

perceives the value of chiropractic largely as pain relief for low 
back and

neck pain.  One of the ironies of chiropractic is that half the 
profession

does not effectively communicate the benefits of adjustments past 
the point

of pain relief, and the other half confuses patients by burying a 
simple

message of keeping a body moving well as it ages in 
intellectualizations of

wellness philosophies focusing on complexities such as the 
neuropathology

and histopathology of the vertebral subluxation.



      According to Farfan, "Aging and degenerative changes are not

synonymous...degenerative changes do not appear unless the joint 
has been

damaged by trauma" (3).  People comprehend the simple logic of 
ideas such as

"The best way to keep a body working well as you age is to keep 
your body

moving during your life". The loss of flexibility and the inability to 
move

freely means people become less active as they age.  If you can 
help

patients keep moving fully with balanced posture, they will in all

likelihood, considering ongoing medical advances, live far longer 
than their

parents.



      The first principle of posture and motion is "The body is made 
to

move"(4).  Explaining basic concepts of body motion to patients can 
help

them understand the value of chiropractic manipulation (as well as 
posture

exercise, nutrition, and other intelligent LifeHabits) in maintaining 
an

active lifestyle, as they move, feel and age well.



      (1) Rupert R, DC. Maintenance care: health promotion services

administered to US chiropractic patients aged 65 and older, Part II. 
JMPT

2000;23(1):10- 19



      (2) Whittingham W, Nilsson N. "Active Range of Motion in the 
Cervical

Spine Increases After Spinal Manipulation (Toggle Recoil)." Journal 
of

Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. November/December 
2001; Vol.

24, No. 9.



      (3) HF Farfan, MSc, MD, CM, FRCS; WH Kirkaldy-Willis: "Managing 
Low

Back Pain," Second Edition, Churchill Livingstone 1988, p 25.)



      (4) Weiniger, Steven P, Conscious Posture, BodyZone.com Press,  
2004

(projected)