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DH is 6 ft and 66 years old. For some little time he's been walking with a slight stoop. But in the past few days he is walking stooped and with the hips thrown out to one side or the other. He is very sedentary, always has been with the exception of walking at night sometimes. He spends a lot of time in a desk chair, both at home and at work.
I'm worried about what this body misalignment might mean for his back and for his future health. Any ideas how I can get this properly checked out and referred to the appropriate practitioner? Should I just make an appt with our PCP, who can refer him to PT?
DH is 6 ft and 66 years old. For some little time he's been walking with a slight stoop. But in the past few days he is walking stooped and with the hips thrown out to one side or the other. He is very sedentary, always has been with the exception of walking at night sometimes. He spends a lot of time in a desk chair, both at home and at work.
I'm worried about what this body misalignment might mean for his back and for his future health. Any ideas how I can get this properly checked out and referred to the appropriate practitioner? Should I just make an appt with our PCP, who can refer him to PT?
Ideas, please. Thanks.
Chiropractor. Now.
I am 71. Retired. In good shape and walk extremely well. I don't have back problems.
But it wasn't always like that. I have been going to chiropractors since '85, and I will never stop going. Regular visits are the reason I do not have back problems.
Have you asked him about or has he complained of any pain/discomfort?
I have inquired. He said that his back generally hurts when he gets up from a chair but it goes away after a while once he gets up and walks around. He felt the misalignment was resolving itself at the same time but I examined him as best I could and found that his hips have shifted off-midline. And that's not being corrected by walking. I'm concerned about the lumbar spine. I also wonder if he's had more falls I don't know about that might have caused pelvic or spinal trauma. He fell three times while we were on vacation in December.
He is open to getting treatment or physical therapy for this. I've talked to him about age-related muscle loss and how people our age can fight it.
OP take him to the doc and have him/her check for stenosis. He'll need an MRI for this, and the MRI will also tell you of any other problems such as herniated discs etal. What is Spinal Stenosis?
I second your plan to start with your PCP, a very logical starting place.
I've gotten him an appt for Saturday.
I'm probably getting ahead of myself but my experience with PT is that they sort of buff you up a bit and cut you loose. I'm guessing most insurance companies don't cover a lot of PT, maybe I'm wrong.
Say I get him into PT and he makes a little progress but then I need to find a rehabilitative (sports medicine maybe?) trainer who will work with him for the long term. Or maybe sports med isn't quite right but an orthopedist would be.
First we find out what's causing this. I read that foot and leg trauma can cause pelvic misalignment, so there's that possibility.
Falls would do it. My husband when he gets up early in the morning he does have a bit of a stoop, then he straightens after a while. I'm all stiff when I wake up too, my back can't stand straight until a few minutes later.
calcium deficiency? Protein deficiency? both easily possible in old age.
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