Do you know why you get shorter as you get older?
This all begins with your brain. The brain controls and coordinates your body by sending and receiving signals via the spinal cord. The brain is the ‘master controller’ of your body. Becuse the brain is so important it has a helmet made of bone called the skull. Also, the spinal cord has protection similar to the skull, known as the spine
. The spine is a complex and flexible structure that supports the body and protects the spinal cord. But how does the spine twist, bend and support the body without breaking? It is because of the discs that are between the 24 bones in the spine also known as intervertebral discs.
These discs are made of a super strong outer part and a fluid filled inner part. When we are born these discs have up to 80% water and as we age, combined with traumas, posture and lifestyle, these discs lose their ability to rehydrate.
Some of these discs and bones in your spine don’t move very well over time because of things that happened to you (as chiropractors we may call these misalignments or subluxations). When that intervertebral joint becomes more stuck and rigid, the disc doesn’t pump fluid as well or move as well and the disc ‘dries’ out over time and gets thinner. As multiple discs get thinner over time at different levels of the spine you eventually become shorter.
It’s a fact that you are a taller person when you wake up in the morning versus at night. This is because these discs rehydrate overnight and first thing in the morning these discs are at their peak height and then we weight bear all day with gravity pushing down on us. This is also why I teach patients how to get up in a safe manner to avoid disc injury when the discs are full. The combination of gravity and sitting, standing, walking and exercisiing compiles over the course of the day to push the fluid out of the disc more than the fluid returning into the disc.
So, you are the tallest in the morning and the shortest at the end of the day.
If that misalignment in the spine persists, the disc can degenerate and become so thin to the point where that spinal joint (the area between the bone and the disc and the other bone) can be bone on bone with little to no disc material remaining.
Most people have heard of ‘bone on bone’ in the knee or hip joints. This is essentially the same thing that happens in the spine where the cartilage wears out over time and also depending on your activity, lifestyle, traumas, posture, alignment, etc.
Eventually with hips and knees those joints are completely replaced. This is very similar to your brake pads being replaced in your car as they wear down. If the car alignment is off, the tires will also wear down prematurely.
Similarly, a chiropractic adjustment cannot correct bone on bone in the spine. Catching these issues early and maintaining movement is essential for prevention.
Currentl in the spine, disc replacements are not very successful surgeries, therefore bone fusion is performed. Now this segment of the spine is no longer a joint and the segments above and below start wearing out at an accelerated rate (ie faster).
Keep the joints moving to avoiding wearing down of the brake pads. This is why we would want to have the spine checked and adjusted on a regular basis.
My number one goal is to restore the movement in the segment that often is part of the symptoms that may have brought the patient into the office. The second most important goal would be to maintain movement in the segment.
Yes, we want you to feel better, but we want to make sure we maintain your progress through a personal care exercise protocol (strength, endurance and mobility) and also through regular adjustments to check and keep the spine moving appropriately.
Just like when we go the gym continually to stay in shape or brushing your teeth not for them not to hurt. We do all this to prevent issues and stay healthy.
Let’s keep moving!
In health,
Dr Dan.
