Instrument adjusting & special populations: the elderly

The benefits of instrument adjusting are many for both practitioner and patient. From the physical advantage for the DC administering the adjustment to the lessened anxiety of the patient receiving the adjustment, many studies have shown that instrument adjusting has a place in chiropractic care.

Often, different types of people derive different benefits when DCs use instruments. There are several ways instrument adjusting can be better than manual adjustments for the elderly, for example.

Safety

Older bones are frailer bones, and although manual chiropractic adjustments are safe, instrument adjusting is gentler. Multiple studies have shown that instrument adjusting is completely safe even for patients who may have conditions such as osteoporosis.

Less soreness

Sometimes manual adjustments can be a bit painful during the adjustment, and often patients report some muscle soreness the following day. With instrument adjusting, the treatment is painless, and patients rarely say they are sore afterward. For elderly patients those two factors can be important.

Time savings

Some elderly people have difficulty with waiting. Instrument adjustments can be administered faster than manual adjustments, meaning that patients move through the office more efficiently and spend less time in the waiting room and on the table.

Lessened anxiety

Removing the fear that an adjustment will hurt or the anxiety popping sounds that accompany manual adjustments can make, can sometimes make the treatment more effective. Patients who feel less anxiety and stress respond better to treatment.
From the patient’s perspective, those four factors may make the decision whether or not to seek chiropractic care.

From the clinician’s point of view, the fact that administering instrument adjustments is physically easier may make a difference in the span of a DC’s career. The physical demands on a DC who performs manual adjustments are often difficult.

One of the many attractions of instrument adjusting is that the machine does the work, while the DC observes and decides what will best help patients.

Many practitioners report that they are able to see more patients when they add instrument adjusting to their services, as well.