What You Eat Is Your Foundation: Nutrition Tips for Aging Patients

If you've been coming to our chiropractic office for back pain or neck pain care, you already know that chiropractic care is rooted in the idea that your body functions as one connected system — and what supports that system goes beyond adjustments alone. Yet one of the most powerful tools for supporting your long-term health is one that rarely comes up in the treatment room — what you eat every day. What you eat has a profound effect on how your spine, muscles, bones, joints, and nerves function every single day and help you get around Nashua.

AGING AND NUTRITION

Getting older doesn't just change how we move — it changes how our bodies absorb and use the very nutrients we depend on to stay strong and pain-free. Research published highlights that older adults face unique physiological challenges when it comes to micronutrient absorption and utilization. Decreased stomach acid production, changes in gut motility, and reduced kidney function can all worsen how efficiently the body processes vitamins and minerals — even when dietary intake seems adequate. (1)

NUTRITION AND BACK PAIN

For anyone dealing with back pain, these nutritional gaps can make a significant and often underestimated difference. Vitamin D and calcium are critical for bone density, and deficiencies are directly linked to increased fracture risk and osteoporosis-related spinal compression. Magnesium plays a main role in muscle relaxation and nerve transmission, and low levels can contribute to muscle cramps and tension that make back pain worse. B vitamins support nerve health, and antioxidants like vitamins C and E help fight the chronic inflammation that drives many musculoskeletal conditions.

Importantly, the midlife years are the ideal time to take action — not after symptoms worsen. A study by Yu and colleagues (2) found that educational interventions aimed at midlife women significantly boosted both knowledge and self-efficacy around healthy ageing, including the preservation of what researchers call "intrinsic capacity" — the physical and mental reserves that keep us functional and independent as we grow older. Nutrition is a basis of that capacity.

These are modifiable risk factors. Small, consistent changes to your diet — more leafy greens, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and colorful vegetables — can significantly support the work we're doing together in the treatment room. We at Moriarty Chiropractic encourage every patient to think of nutrition as an extension of their chiropractic care. A healthy spine is built from the inside out — and that begins with what you put on your plate.

CONTACT Moriarty Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he talks about a common spinal condition, disc degeneration, that comes with aging and how The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management helps.

Make your Nashua chiropractic appointment today.