Exercise increases disc height
A weekly nugget or two of pain science news and ideas for patients and pros, usually 400–1000 words. The blog is the “director’s commentary” on the core content of PainScience.com: a library of major articles and books about common painful problems and popular treatments. See the blog archives or updates for the whole site.
Intense exercise, gravity … that probably compresses spines, amiright? Squishes those intervertebral discs out? Wear and tear?
Nyope, the opposite. A good workout fluffs them up! “Juicier.” Increased disc height with vigorous activity.
Bowden et al: “Physical activity, particularly vigorous activity, is beneficial in helping maintain intervertebral disc health.”
Is there anything about spine health that’s actually intuitive? I think not. Counter-intuitive is the rule. If your pet theory about what causes or cures back pain “makes sense,” it’s probably wrong!
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