Sprouting health chiropractic is not only a child friendly practice, we also look after older sprouts! One key area we look at especially is balance and fall risk! World Health Organization stated adults over 65 years of age suffer the greatest number of fatal falls.(1) Research pointed out that chronic musculoskeletal pain is associated with poor stability.(2) Poor stability is considered as a risk factor for falls as is very important for gait (walking)!(2) Chiropractors and other health professions use a sit-to-stand test to identify an individual’s ability to maintain balance, measure lower extremity strength, and assessment of fall risk.
Five Times Sit to Stand Test(FTSST) is a very easy test to try at home. All you need is a chair without arms, roughly 90 degree bend at the knee joint, and a stopwatch. Make sure someone is watching you while performing the test as a safety precaution. Simply cross your arms over your chest, sit up straight from a sitting position 5 times as quickly as you can, and measure the time on completion. The time exceeding the following can be considered to have worse than average performance: 11.4 sec (60 to 69 years), 12.6 sec. (70 to 79 years), and 14.8 sec. (80 to 89 years).(3) Research suggested further assessment if you excessed 12 seconds on completion.(4) Chiropractic care has a high level of evidence on chronic lower back pain management.(5) As well as a moderate level of evidence on other chronic musculoskeletal pain such as neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, and lower extremities joint pain.(5) If you failed the FTSST, suffering from chronic pain, or generally have poor balance, talk to our chiropractors and see whether we can help manage your concerns, as there are other pathologies that may also affect your stability and balance. Reference 1. Organization WH. Falls 2018 [Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/falls#:~:text=Each%20year%20an%20estimated%20646,medical%20attention%20occur%20each%20year. 2. Kendall JC, Vindigni D, Polus BI, Azari MF, Harman SC. Effects of manual therapies on stability in people with musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review. Chiropractic & manual therapies. 2020;28(1):1-10. 3. Bohannon RW. Reference values for the five-repetition sit-to-stand test: a descriptive meta-analysis of data from elders. Perceptual and motor skills. 2006;103(1):215-22. 4. Tiedemann A, Shimada H, Sherrington C, Murray S, Lord S. The comparative ability of eight functional mobility tests for predicting falls in community-dwelling older people. Age and ageing. 2008;37(4):430-5. 5. Bronfort G, Haas M, Evans R, Leininger B, Triano J. Effectiveness of manual therapies: the UK evidence report. Chiropractic & osteopathy. 2010;18(1):1-33.
0 Comments
One of the most common issues we see in our practice is low back pain. Often, these patients are presenting after a long struggle with low back pain and have invested their time and money into different modalities of care.
Chiropractic care has long been established as an effective nonpharmacological treatment for low back pain and is supported by several clinical practice guidelines. Opioid analgesic therapy is a commonly used prescription drug therapy for low back pain in older people. A recent study collected patient feedback comparing spinal manipulative therapy (as provided by chiropractors) and prescription drug therapy (as provided by medical practitioners) for the treatment of chronic low back pain in the older adult population. Generally, older adults who have received various treatments for low back pain report higher satisfaction with chiropractic care compared to medical care in the short term but there is less evidence for either type of care in the long term. A total of 195 older adults with chronic low back pain participated in a survey measuring patient satisfaction and health related quality of life. Of these participants, long-term recipients of spinal manipulative therapy had higher self-reported rates of health-related quality of life than the long-term recipients of prescription drug therapy. There still needs to be more research for this result to be conclusive but chiropractic care is an easily applicable method of care to aid in the management of low back without the use of pharmaceuticals.
Bruxism, also referred to as teeth clenching and grinding affects both children and adult populations worldwide. This can lead to a range of dental and general health problems when left untreated. To understand bruxism, it can be defined as the involuntary grinding, clenching, or gnashing of the teeth often occurring during sleep (nocturnal bruxism).
Symptoms of bruxism can include:
References:
Let’s look into what our feet do for us and how important they are to us. Flat foot in our society might be more prevalent than you think! Combining different study findings, the percentage of flat foot seen in children aged 2-6 is 21%-57% and up to 14% in adult populations.(1) The feet and ankle are important to support our daily activities. What could happen if you are putting extra stress into your lower limb joints every step when we walk or do exercise?
As its name suggests, flat foot is a collapsed foot arch when our foot touches the ground(stance phase) in gait. We can imagine the middle rock taken out from an arch bridge and it collapses. In most flat foot sufferers, one of our bone’s called the talus in our mid-foot is found to be shifted forward. This becomes mobile and unlocks the foot arch.(2) Studies have shown that people suffering from flat feet can expect to see excessive foot pronation (rolling in), knee rolling inwards, internal rotation of hip and compensatory back problems.(3) That is one reason why some people get pain in their heel and get tired quicker on their feet when shopping or walking. Another study found other comorbidities such bunions, calluses and arthritis in flat foot sufferers.(4) It is very easy to identify a flat foot! If you can fit one to one and a half fingers underneath your foot arch, you are not a flat foot sufferer! If you could not fit two fingers in your foot arch, it is a good idea to see a podiatrist, as well as musculoskeletal profession to check out your potential lower limb and back compensatory change! If you or your love ones failed the test, speak to our chiropractors in Sprouting Health and see how we can help manage your issues! References 1. Aenumulapalli A, Kulkarni MM, Gandotra AR. Prevalence of flexible flat foot in adults: a cross-sectional study. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR. 2017;11(6):AC17. 2. Van DB, Sangeorzan BJ. Biomechanics and pathophysiology of flat foot. Foot and ankle clinics. 2003;8(3):419-30. 3. Jahani MR, Jalalvand A. Effect of Flat Foot on Excursions of Lower Limb Joints during Running. SSU_Journals. 2020;28(2):2373-83. 4. Shibuya N, Jupiter DC, Ciliberti LJ, VanBuren V, La Fontaine J. Characteristics of adult flatfoot in the United States. The Journal of foot and ankle surgery. 2010;49(4):363-8. By 15 years of age, the percentage of children experiencing back pain is approximately 50%-70%, which approaches adult rates of 70-80% (1).
Most school children experience some sort of neck or back pain. Studies have shown there is a significant association between the weight of the backpack the child uses and the likelihood of reporting back pain (1). In a study of 640 school children with back pain, the authors collected data for 25 years. They showed an 84% lifetime prevalence of continued back pain as an adult. Therefore, it is extremely important to do as much as you can to deal with the issue causing the back pain for your children now! Here is our 5 tips to help prevent back pain in your children this year
If you would any further information about what we do at sprouting Health Chiropractic head over to our website or ring us today to book an Appointment to see if we can help. References
One of the most common questions we get asked in the practice is “Why could babies need a check-up?”. To answer this question, we need to look at one of the biggest physical stressors that can affect an infant which is childbirth.
Birth injury, unless major and life threatening, is under-recognised and under-treated (Gottlieb, 1993). In a recent study of 200 infants presenting to a clinic with pain and other physiologic disturbance, 95% demonstrated notable birth trauma. In a much earlier and larger study of 1250 newborns, 89% showed some mechanical strain or restriction (Frymann, 1966). Many injuries including asymmetry of the head, facial asymmetry, torticollis, asymmetry of the mandible, nasal septum deviation and spinal, rib or clavicle dysfunction often go undetected until associated health problems arise. It is increasingly common for births to be assisted with vacuum extraction instruments or surgery (Kozak and Weeks, 2002). Vacuum extraction has been shown to be a strong predictor of early cessation of breastfeeding (Hall et al, 2002). Even under normal conditions, birth consists of significant traction and rotation of the baby’s head and with sufficient force, clavicle fracture is seen as an “unavoidable side effect” in up to 10% of vaginal births (Miller et al, 2013). Babies with mild injuries have a high rate of cessation of breastfeeding, however a study by Miller et al (2009) found that 79% of new mothers presenting with feeding problems were able to exclusively breastfeed after a short course of manual therapy. More research is needed here, however these are promising results. Aside from feeding issues that may be associated with birth trauma, there are some other really important cues to look for in babies to see if they may be experiencing pain:
So if you baby is exhibiting any of these behaviours, give our Practice a call today so we can screen for musculoskeletal issues and help support you and your baby thrive as they grow and develop. References
What are they?
Magnesium, zinc are very important minerals and B6 is a water soluble vitamin. What are they good for? B6 - helps liver detox, helps normal brain function, helps nervous system, can help with pregnancy nausea, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Zinc - helps liver detox, immune function, wound healing, creation of DNA, growth of cells and is necessary for almost 100 enzymes to carry out vital chemical reactions in the body. Magnesium - helps liver detoxification, helps with alleviating effects of stress, electrical conductivity of nerves, regulation of blood pressure and other cardiovascular processes, muscle contraction, maintenance of hormones, essential vitamin formation, glucose and energy metabolism, neurotransmitter production, brain function, digestion, cell division, maintenance of bones, migraines, depression, type 2 diabetes. What foods are they high in? B6: Beef liver, tuna, salmon, chickpeas, poultry, dark leafy greens, bananas, papayas, oranges, cantaloupe Zinc: Shellfish: oysters, crab, lobster, beef, poultry, pork, legumes, nuts, seeds Magnesium: Almonds, peanuts, cashews, Pumpkin seeds, Peanut butter, Beans (black, kidney), Soybeans, soymilk, Cooked spinach, Swiss chard, White potato with skin, Brown rice, Salmon, Beef, Poultry, Banana, Raisins What should I do next? Talk to the team at sprouting health about what's important for your body. References: The Nutrition Code. Suzzane Labrie 2017. The Nutrition Source. Havard. 2023. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ |
AuthorBlogs by the team at Sprouting Health Archives
April 2024
Categories |