Is Chiropractic Care a Safe Choice For Senior Citizens? Chiropractic care has been determined to be the most effective approach available for back pain yet a lot of people are concerned or have heard that Chiropractic care is not safe, especially for the senior citizen. This is not true. Chiropractic care is actually safer than taking aspirin. The risk of serious complications from a spinal adjustment is very low. When compared to other forms of health care, Chiropractic has one of the best records for safety. This is reflected in the cost of malpractice insurance for the doctor. Chiropractic has the lowest cost malpractice insurance for health care providers. 1.5 million people this year will be hospitalized for medical physician caused reactions. 100,000 people this year will die from medical physician caused reactions. 1,000 people this year will die of complications from unnecessary surgery. And, 1,600 children this year will die from allergic reactions to aspirin. In the one hundred plus year history of Chiropractic, serious complications from the Chiropractic adjustment are only a small fraction of the above numbers that occur in just one-year?s time and average about one per year. Is it any wonder that Chiropractors pay the lowest malpractice insurance? Senior citizens often need to be treated with tender loving care (TLC) and Chiropractic has gentle, conservative techniques that can be effectively used to safely adjust the spine of the elderly. Chiropractic can often work with osteoporosis, arthritis, degenerative disc disease, spinal compression fractures, as well as hip and knee replacement surgery.   For example, a 90 year old female patient with significant osteoporosis, hip replacement surgery, and compression fractures of the lumbar spine came into our clinic complaining of low back pain. The low back pain was significant and was affecting her activities of daily living. The patient was adjusted by blocking her pelvis and letting the weight of her own body slowly pull her skeletal structure back towards balance. In four visits the patient?s pain was improved by 60% or more. Reducing our pain becomes important as we age because pain can lead to disability and limit our activities. Limiting our social activities is detrimental especially for the senior citizen. ?Social activity increases the ability of an older person to remain in the community and decreases the use of formal health care services?. Every great discovery takes 100 years before it becomes widely accepted by the public. Chiropractic turned 100 years old in 1997, the same year that surveys showed visits to alternative care practitioners, (led by Chiropractic) exceeded visits to primary care physicians in the United States. Chiropractic certainly seems to have come of age and the research supports it to be a safe, effective, and preferred way to decrease your pain. If you have problems, especially if they are limiting your activities, why not try a visit to your Doctor of Chiropractic? Only a Doctor of Chiropractic can determine if you can be adjusted and if Chiropractic can help you.