Is your spine shrinking?
Dr. Wendy/Hayden Health | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 12 months AGO
Not only do we shrink as we get older, but our height varies throughout the day. During the course of any given day, the intervertebral disks of the spine - those shock-absorbing sponge-like structures that lie between the vertebrae - absorb or lose water, which leads to an increase or a decrease in our vertical height.
This property is called "viscoelastic creep," and determines our overall stature, which can result in a reduction of 19.3mm (1.1 percent of our stature) in height between morning and end of the day. Interesting, 19 percent of this loss occurs during the first five minutes of sitting.
Research suggests that with some specific stretching, we can increase our total spine height 5.2mm, of which 2.1mm comes from the low back area alone.
A study was done using a group of people who started by lying for 10 minutes, followed by sitting in a fixed position for five minutes. They were measured for loss in height at one-minute intervals for five minutes, followed by loaded sitting for five minutes. Again, spinal height was measured, and they were then randomly assigned to a sagging push-up group or a supine hook-laying position (lying on the back, hips flexed 90 degrees and knees flexed 65 degrees) for 10 minutes, after which spinal height was re-measured. This was repeated using the opposite exercise position on each subject. The results revealed almost all of the loss resulting from sitting and loaded sitting was regained in both of the two exercise positions, slightly favoring the lying on the back/hip-knee flexed position.
Many of us spend a significant amount of time sitting. The pressure measured in the lower back disks when comparing sit, stand, and lying positions reveal sitting places twice the pressure in the disk as does lying, with standing somewhere in the middle.
These findings suggest it would be prudent to "take the load off" periodically throughout the day. If we all performed 10 minutes of either extension or flexion exercises as described here, we might be able to slow down the process of disk degeneration.
For more information, contact Dr. Wendy at haydenhealth@gmail.com.
ARTICLES BY DR. WENDY/HAYDEN HEALTH
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