Chiropractic for Older Adults with Spine Pain

​The leading cause of years lived with disability in most countries and age group is considered to be spinal pain (low back and neck) (1). Spine-related pain is increasingly more common in older adults as the population ages (2). It affects the overall quality of life, ranging from family life to work life for those who suffer from it. Do you or a loved one experience spinal pain? This is an important article that could make the world of difference to you.
 
“30% of all back pain presentations in Australian emergency departments are for older adults, aged 65 and over” (3)
 
In Australia, a number of chronic conditions have been shown to be associated with spinal pain in older women with arthritis, including cardiovascular conditions, diabetes and obesity (4). Low back pain in older adults have been associated with early retirement, difficulties in caring for themselves at home, increased disability, and decreases with their social well-being (5,6,7). The difficulty is being older is associated with non-recovery in adults with low back pain, in a cohort of older adults presenting for a new primary care visit for back pain, found that 77% had persistent back pain after 12 months (8). So it is important to get on top of it earlier. Can chiropractic care help with the management of back pain?

In a recent research literature, where they did a retrospective study, looking at older adults with spine pain at a publicly funded facility utilising chiropractic care. The study looked at data between January 2011 and June 2020 of adults aged 45 and older. 240 patients were looked at from that data, and it was found that older adults with spinal pain experienced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in pain (9). So it may not be too late to seek help with spinal issues with non-invasive and conservative therapy, even at an older age. Though a larger data set and more studies would be helpful in further substantiating these findings, the findings are positive.
 
If you want to find out if chiropractic may help manage spinal pain for you or your loved ones, have a chat with one of our chiropractors to see how they can assist.
 
“It is important to look into issues earlier rather than later”
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Hurwitz, E.L., Randhawa, K., Yu, H., Côté, P. and Haldeman, S., 2018. The Global Spine Care Initiative: a summary of the global burden of low back and neck pain studies. European Spine Journal, 27(Suppl 6), pp.796-801.
2. Fu, J.L. and Perloff, M.D., 2022. Pharmacotherapy for spine-related pain in older adults. Drugs & aging, 39(7), pp.523-550.
3. Ferreira, G.E., Machado, G.C., Shaheed, C.A., Lin, C.W.C., Needs, C., Edwards, J., Facer, R., Rogan, E., Richards, B. and Maher, C.G., 2019. Management of low back pain in Australian emergency departments. BMJ Quality & Safety, 28(10), pp.826-834.
4. de Luca, K.E., Parkinson, L., Haldeman, S., Byles, J.E. and Blyth, F., 2017. The relationship between spinal pain and comorbidity: a cross-sectional analysis of 579 community-dwelling, older Australian women. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 40(7), pp.459-466.
5. Bevan, S., Quadrello, T., McGee, R., Mahdon, M., Vavrovsky, A. and Barham, L., 2009. Fit for work. Musculoskeletal disorders in the European workforce. London: The work foundation, 2009.
6. Rudy, T.E., Weiner, D.K., Lieber, S.J., Slaboda, J. and Boston, J.R., 2007. The impact of chronic low back pain on older adults: a comparative study of patients and controls. Pain, 131(3), pp.293-301.
7. Hoy, D., March, L., Brooks, P., Blyth, F., Woolf, A., Bain, C., Williams, G., Smith, E., Vos, T., Barendregt, J. and Murray, C., 2014. The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 73(6), pp.968-974.
8.Rundell, S.D., Sherman, K.J., Heagerty, P.J., Mock, C.N. and Jarvik, J.G., 2015. The clinical course of pain and function in older adults with a new primary care visit for back pain. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 63(3), pp.524-530.
9. Albertson, A.K., Maiers, M., Tailor, G. and Passmore, S., 2025. Utilization of Chiropractic Services among Older Adults with Spine Pain at a Publicly Funded Canadian Healthcare Facility: A Retrospective Study. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, pp.1-8.