Skip to content

Mobility and prevention key for chiropractic care in local seniors

Dr. Zachary Paul promotes mobility for senior chiropractic care in Agassiz and Harrison
7676309_web1_Seniors-Section-Chiropractor

The Observer took a moment to chat with Agassiz Chiropractor Dr. Zachary Paul at the Agassiz Family Chiropractor Centre where he shares a practice with his Dad, Dr. Darren Paul. Paul went to UFV for his prerequisites to chiropractic care and was accepted into Palmer College of Chiropractic where he recently graduated.

See: Dr. Darren Paul

Paul practiced under Dr. Hubbard in Davenport Iowa for eight months, gleaning as much as he could from Hubbard who’s an upper cervical practitioner and probably one of the best currently specializing in that area according to Paul.

“He puts out tons of research with upper cervical care and contributes to research on the concussion stuff going on with healthcare right now,” said Paul.

After his training with Hubbard, Paul went to the Dominican Republic and did a ChiroMission, which is a bunch of chiropractors who go down there and adjust people in the Third World areas.

“We saw about 500 people each, lots of elders, lots of young babies and all sorts of people,” said Paul.

At his shared practice in Agassiz, Paul sees a wide variety of patients ranging from people at UFV on basketball teams to seniors, it’s a general kind of family practice, and it’s open to everyone.

Senior chiropractic care generally involves encouraging patients to keep moving. The goal is to keep them active for as long as possible.

“It’s important that seniors stay active so they can live independently for longer that’s essentially kind of the goal there,” said Paul. “That might involve stretching and exercises more than a baby which would be strictly adjustments.”

Paul has his own style of chiropractic care and is heavily into research about new developments in the field, especially in the areas of lower back pain science, and the sports science involving concussions.

“With the low back pain and pain science there’s a lot of stuff going on with actual exercise and positioning that treats the pain when you add it to chiropractic care — instead of traditional adjustments you get the patient moving and doing stretches and exercises. Research shows that it helps to speed up recovery while keeping patients out of pain for longer when you combine all of these different things,” he said.

Senior care is specifically about the patients’ goals and the diversity of need depends on the individual. A lot of the seniors that Paul deals with are looking to alleviate pain, whether that be from a sedentary lifestyle, or over usage from too much movement. Part of the treatment Paul provides is to determine his patients’ level of activity on a daily basis so he can adjust accordingly to get them into a routine that will best serve their chiropractic needs.

“You’ve got both sides of the spectrum, either way we’re trying to get to that goal, and that can be by getting them moving with exercises and stretches and helping them to get their balance back on track to decrease the possibility of a fall.”

Balance can be restored or improved in a senior by using proper orthotics, combined with proper stretching and exercise, which can decrease the chance of a fall by up to 20 per cent.

Proprioception is the body’s indicator of balance and where things are in the brain’s system. “It is the ability to grasp, is the sense of the relative position of one’s own parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement.”

Adjustments can help with its overall function according to Paul.

“Proprioception tends to decrease with less movement so the more you move the more you’re aware of how your body moves and where it is in space, and generally when you’re not moving as fast while exercising things, your brain forgets where certain things are, which can lead to tripping and stubbing your toes and things that lead to falling,” said Paul.

Paul will try to get patients out of their comfort zone to readjust their daily routines for maximum care.

See: Fitness and seniors

“If they’re injuring themselves we try to move those risks out of the way and tell them to put a bell on their cat’s collar if they’re tripping over it everyday.”

It’s simple things that mitigate risk according to Paul and lifestyle is essential to prevention.

Other factors for seniors include arthritis and old injuries. Paul will treat that with a laser which expedites the healing process by allowing for deeper penetration into the tissue and the reduction of inflammation in the affected area.

“It decreases pain, swelling, and it gets people moving a lot faster than traditional care and when you combine that with exercise and stretching you get good results.”

Staying active his high on the preventative list after age 65 as well as exercising for two and half hours a week for moderate activity (brisk walks, etc,) strengthening muscles and increasing bone density. This involves things like weight lifting and taking the stairs as opposed to the elevator and are a few simple things seniors can do to increase mobility and functioning.

“Moderating risks like slipping in the bathroom are important, as 1 in 3 seniors will have falls this year, so that means no climbing to grab things from top shelves,” said Paul.

For more on Dr. Zachary Paul, the Agassiz Family Chiropractic Centre, or to book an appointment call 604-796-3559.