Stretches Can Be Hard on the Spine

I recently attended a continuing education seminar conducted by Dr. Charles Annunziata, a chiropractor from the east coast, on “Spinal Disorders from Diagnosis to Treatment”. One of the first things they talked about were stretching exercises. It has been known for many years that the standard stretching exercises provided by most healthcare providers are of no clinical benefit in reducing back and neck pain. More recently the research shows that, when applied in the most common manner, these stretches actually cause disc problems, particularly long-term.

At night, when we are lying down and gravity is not pushing down on our spine, the discs are re-absorbing moisture and ‘pumping’ back up to full capacity. Everyone gains between three-quarters of an inch and two inches in height while sleeping. When we first wake up the discs are stretched and straining from the internal pressure, and anything that increases external pressure causes micro-tears and ruptures of the disc structures.

There are three things that most people do upon awakening that injure their backs every morning:

1. Stretching before getting out of bed. I’m not referring to the ‘yawn and stretch’ before hopping up and heading to the bathroom – I mean pulling both knees up to the chest as hard as possible and holding it for 30 seconds or more before moving on to other similar stretches.
2. Going to the exercise room and doing calisthenics or lifting weights, or going right to work and immediately begin heavy (and usually awkward) lifting with concurrent bending and stooping required by the job.
3. Sitting in a lousy chair with poor posture reading, eating breakfast, or watching TV.

Instead we should be standing and walking, minimizing the above-mentioned activities as much as possible. The research shows that when we are upright, with gravity doing its thing, it takes between one and two hours for our discs to deflate sufficiently for the risk of injury to become minimal. If you still absolutely must do these particular stretches, do them as a cool-down after exercising, or after climbing into bed before going to sleep.

If you want more information, e-mail me and I will send you the references cited by Dr. Annunziata. As always, when the spine is out of place, all of these problems will be magnified. Chiropractors can help you sustain less injury, get rid of pain, and be more healthy – call and give us a chance to show you how!

Getting rid of your pain,

Dr. Steven Ray, Chiropractor

Val Vista Chiropractic