Who Do You Know That Is Elderly And In Pain?

Pain is a predictor of poor health especially if you are more elderly. It is commonly associated with low levels of physical activity and performance.

Those developing pain when older are 4x (400%) more likely to suffer from Anxiety and Depression, as well as social isolation, loss of independence, decreased appetite, poor sleep, Brain decline, sleep disturbance and poor concentration.

Back Pain which is CHRONIC (long term or greater than 6 months) occurs more in older adults than in any other age group.

Unfortunately Back Pain and Neck pain in seniors is associated with many more developments of diseases. Such as Bone and joint disorders, Migraines, Cardiovascular diseases (which is currently the number 1 killer in elderly), Lung problems and Gastric ulcers found by Hartvigsen in a 2006 study.

Cardio-respiratory health and fitness (CRF — how fit you lungs and heart are), is a predictor of early death as well as the quality of life in seniors.  CRF declines rapidly after the age of 45.

Hence, maintaining a healthy weight and activity levels (Public Health England recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise and 2 sessions of strength and balance training per week) and not smoking – all lead to a greater CRF and qualify of life span.

Excess BMI score (Body Mass Index – your weight divided by your height) is a poorer health value than having a DXA or Ultrasound body fat scan. It’s possible if you’re morbidly obese person you can have the same BMI as a bodybuilder or strongman/woman. This does not mean the athlete is unhealthy. Thus, having a proper health check is important if you really want to determine the levels of fat and muscle mass in your body. If you re having a DXA scan whilst your at it you can also check out your Bone Mineral density to see if you are at risk or have got Osteoporosis (something which GP’s are told to encourage everyone over the age of 65 if they meet requirements).

 

Back Pain

An active lifestyle has been proven as a protective factor against incidents of low back pain. Hartvigsen and Christensen created a population based study in 2007, which followed 1387 danish ?? twins ?‍♂️, over 2 whole years, aged between 70-100.

They managed to show that strenuous activity (like heavy gardening, long walks (>1 hour), bike rides (>1hour), sports dancing ALL protect ? your lower back against PAIN. Social exercises also help maintain good levels of brain plasticity (as nothing lights up the brain more than chatting to a new person) – independence and reducing likelihood of other diseases.

N.B. 150 minutes of aerobic activity and 2 sessions of Strength and Balance training IMMEDIATELY REDUCES the RISK of MANY CHRONIC DISEASES and extends longevity.

 

Persistent Pain

Those at higher risk of developing persistence of pain include:

  • Job dissatisfaction
  • Widespread pain already – Leg, Arm
  • reduced range of movement
  • history of lower back pain
  • smokers
  • lack of physical activity
  • alcohol
  • poor self rating of own health
  • psychological trauma and distress

 

Most people with Back pain will fear that they will do damage. What’s important to know is that around 90% of BACK PAIN is mechanical and non-specific …..meaning…. there is

nothing ruptured,

nothing dislocated,

NOTHING … BROKEN.

Your Back is usually fine – however tiny little micro-problems may have snow-balled and coupled with stress, inactivity and a lot mentioned above, with all of these you may begin to suffer pain.

So… the problem is then you begin to avoid things, avoid social activities, local events, gatherings, shopping, hobbies, until it becomes a vicious cycle. Only ending up making the pain much much worse.

All this above can be started by only a “THOUGHT”  – the idea that you may be going to do damage to your back. But this is very unlikely as we know 90% of back pain is not related to those sorts of problems.

However its more important – that when your in doubt – GET it checked out.

It can be easy to pamper yourself when your elderly, however another perspective is that this may be doing you a dis-service. As this then becomes Learned Helplessness. Where you feel you are not to do something for yourself. It is crucial that we all need and want to empower the elderly in the community,

In a study in elderly care homes, the residents were split into 2 groups. One group caring for a plant ? and another without. The group that cared for the ? and had this responsibility and tasks became less likely to and suffered fewer falls and injuries.

Said again, when in doubt, get yourselves checked out.

 

 

 

From the Preston Chiropractor Team
Getting You Back in Action & Enjoying Your Life Again
Serving the people of Preston and surrounding areas including Southport and Lytham St Annes