If you are scheduled for surgery, you are likely to have anesthesia. Scientists have known since 1887 that anesthesia can cause delirium while scientists in the 1980s had begun to understand that people who had heart surgery had a decline in memory and concentration. Surgery after the age of 65 years old carries a much higher risk of cognitive decline than we see in younger patients. Avoid surgery requiring anesthesia especially if you are older than 65 years old. Many surgeries are necessary and may save your life. Other elective surgeries may be avoided with better mechanical body hygiene. These can include many hips, knee, and shoulder surgeries that often are a result of chronic pain and mismanagement of these conditions, resulting in permanent joint damage. Chiropractors can be a great source for mechanical health as they are primary care for the musculoskeletal system and evaluate mechanical systems holistically and treat them to naturally improve the way you move which can help your joints last as long as you do. My dad was a great example of what could happen. When he was 89 years old, he missed the chair, fell, and broke his hip. He already had been experiencing some cognitive issues but after this surgery, they worsened. Over time he improved and was able to walk again but had further cognitive impairments. The Guardian magazine recently offered some advice and an explanation of what scientists know about anesthesia and its effects on the brain. Check the article out below The hidden long-term risks of surgery: ‘It gives people’s brains a hard time’ Operations can have cognitive side-effects, particularly in the over-65s but also in the very young. How can science minimize the danger? David Cox Sun 24 Apr 2022 In 2004, Mario Cibelli was preparing a 75-year-old patient for a big cardiac operation when the patient’s daughter asked for a quick word. “She explained to me how worried she was about the surgery,” says Cibelli, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care at the University Hospitals Birmingham. “I said: ‘Look, everybody’s worried about heart surgery, it comes with risks, but normally people benefit from it.’ And then she told me that her father had undergone a cardiac procedure two years before and he had changed dramatically.” Cibelli listened as the woman described how her father, a former physics professor, had shown signs of significant cognitive decline after the initial operation. Once a keen chess player, he was now unable to play the game and struggled to even do basic crosswords. For Cibelli, it was the first time he had encountered what is now termed postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) – cognitive problems associated with surgery that persist well after the effects of anaesthetics have worn off. “I published some articles on the subject,” he says. “And people began finding my email address, saying their father or mother had changed a lot after a surgery in the past. So I began to realise that this wasn’t such an isolated case.” Read more Need help with knee, hip, foot, shoulder or wrist problems? Seeing a chiropractor can help you feel move and function better without the use of drugs or surgery. Request an appointment here.