Instrument assisted adjustments are often useful for treating patients within various special populations, like osteoporosis. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation,
“Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones that happens when you lose too much bone, make too little bone or both. As a result, your bones become weak and may break from a minor fall or, in serious cases, even from sneezing or bumping into furniture.”
DCs often do have a role to play in the care of a patient with osteoporosis. For one thing, DCs do so much more than simply “crack backs,” but patients don’t always understand that fact. It is important to make sure patients are aware that chiropractors can offer nutrition advice, help them develop an exercise regimen that will build strength and increase balance, suggest ways to lower stress, as well as perform adjustments to various parts of the body.
Once patients have a better idea of how DCs can assist in the management of osteoporosis, they will be more open to treatment options. A thorough assessment of a patient’s medical history is always necessary, but it is absolutely critical when dealing with a patient diagnosed with osteoporosis. Bone density results, along with any other test results, and a list of supplements the patient is taking or has taken are just two important items to note.
If and when the DC decides that a patient with osteoporosis needs an adjustment and the patient agrees, instrument assisted adjustments may be optimal. Instruments can deliver very targeted adjustments so only the joints that need to be adjusted are affected. In addition to the focus that instrument adjustments allow, they also deliver adjustments through a controlled amount of force.
Whether the tool being used is a springloaded instrument, an electromechanical model, or a computerassisted instrument, the DC can make an adjustment with the exact amount of force necessary and no more. For people with fragile bones, this can be critical.
The choice of what type of instrument to use depends entirely on the preferences and training of the practitioner. Researchers have not yet conclusively demonstrated that any single instrument is better than any other when being used on patients with osteoporosis.
As in all cases of degenerative or other complicated conditions, DCs should consider themselves a part of the patient’s healthcare team and actively seek to both obtain and share information with other care providers. In addition to being in the best interests of the patient, sharing information openly improves communication across the healthcare industry, improves the reputation of chiropractors as a whole, and raises the credibility of the individual DC.