Improving Balance & Reducing Fall Risk With Chiropractic Care

Falling down and getting injured is not just a problem for older adults–in fact, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), falls are the leading cause of  non-fatal injuries in the U.S., that result in an emergency room visit. The total fall-related visits exceeds 5 million annually across all ages, and for older adults (65+), the number is around 3 million ER visits per year. 

This makes maintaining excellent balance and stability a lifelong necessity. How can you and your family accomplish this? We recommend chiropractic care. 

Chiropractic care offers a unique, holistic, and non-invasive approach to enhancing the body’s stability, improving coordination, and significantly reducing fall risk throughout your lifetime. 

How Chiropractic Care Improves Balance and Stability

Balance is not just maintained by your ears; it is an incredibly complex function that relies on the harmony of three systems, also known as the sensorimotor integration. The three aspects include: 

• Your vision

• Your vestibular system (inner ear)

• Proprioception (your body’s sense of position in space, communicated through joints and the spine)

Chiropractic care directly targets the proprioceptive component by focusing on the spine, which houses the central nervous system. 

Enhancing Proprioception and Joint Awareness

Spinal misalignments (subluxations) can disrupt the communication between the tiny sensory receptors in your joints and your brain. If the communication is static or delayed, your brain won’t receive the correct information. This can lead to slower reaction times and instability. 

Specific spinal adjustments restore normal movement to the vertebrae. Studies suggest that spinal manipulation improves sensorimotor function and ankle joint position sense. Better joint awareness means the brain can react faster and more accurately when you slip or trip. 

Improving Coordination and Reaction Time

When you lose balance, the key to avoiding a fall is taking a fast, automatic compensatory step. Research has indicated that consistent chiropractic care can significantly improve the speed and accuracy of these stepping tasks in adults. 

Chiropractic adjustments remove neurological interference, optimizing the flow of information between the brain and the body. This results in enhanced coordination, better reflexes, and quicker reaction times. These are all crucial for catching yourself during an unexpected loss of balance. 

Addressing Musculoskeletal Pain and Posture

Pain and poor posture are major factors that compromise balance in individuals of all ages. When you have chronic pain (like low back or hip pain), you naturally compensate by shifting your gait and posture, creating instability. By reducing musculoskeletal pain, chiropractic care allows you to adopt a more natural, stable stance. 

Adjustments help correct postural imbalances, which are essential for maintaining the body’s center of gravity over the base of support. Correcting issues like forward head posture of shoulder rounding improves overall equilibrium.

Why This Matters at Every Age

No matter what age you or your family members are at, chiropractic care can help maintain your balance and stability. Children and teens benefit through enhanced sports performance, coordination, and rapid physical development during growth spurts. Adult aged individuals can benefit from reduced stiffness and posture issues caused by desk work. Older adults benefit through the direct reduction of fall risks and mobility maintenance. 

Support Your Family’s Wellness with Credence Chiropractic

Credence Chiropractic in Georgetown, TX, supports whole families in their journey for holistic and non-invasive wellness. Bring your children, parents, and yourself to our office and see the difference regular chiropractic care can make! 

Schedule an assessment online today or give us our office a call at 512-887-1477.