Science with a smile: Hop on the spinal health wagon

Ever play hopscotch?  You know the game where you have to hop on one foot.

Well, that little game may have some relationship to today’s subject, asymmetrical loading in the spine. Just for a second, let’s use our imagination.

Pretend that you were playing hopscotch all day, every day. In your mind’s eye, see yourself hoping on one foot. Everywhere you go, you must hop on one foot.

Now think about it, wouldn’t you get tired. And after a while it would affect your whole body.

Everything you do would be altered and you would use your body differently from the way it was designed to function. With this in mind, consider the article by Butterman and Beaubien from the Midwest Spine Institute.

They found when you altered  the normal alignment of the spine, this altered the pressure on the lumbar discs and they indicated this abnormal loading may lead to disc degeneration.

They had advice for spine surgeons performing scoliosis surgery. “These results suggest that scoliosis surgeons should minimize end-vertebra tilt, maximize lumbar curve, and balance correction at the time of surgical intervention.” In other words, the spine in your lower back should be straight when viewed from the front and have a curve when viewed from the side.

Of course, it’s always more complex than it seems, so sit down with your doctor and discuss the article, “In vitro disc pressure profiles below scoliosis fusion constructs,” which was published in the prestigious journal Spine.  The truth of the matter is it’s pretty hard to improve on normal.

I don’t know any scientists who were consulted when humans were designed but I also don’t know anybody who’s been able to improve on the design. So take care, try to keep your body as close to healthy as possible and make your doctor a part of the team. As for me, I’m going to play hopscotch.

I never played it as a child, but if dodge ball is too dangerous for children to play can a hopscotch ban be far behind and I want to get in a few games before it’s gone forever.

Remember, this information is not intended as health care advice.

The responsibility to determine the risk, usability and value of any information lies with your personal health care provider.

Share on Facebook