Spinal flexion in the morning

[kinkymisspinky]

I've been reading McGill and he is against spinal flexion in the morning. Basically, the intervertebral discs swell with fluid overnight causing the spine to lengthen and become less flexible. He says that disc-bending stress increases by 300% and ligament stress by 80% in the morning as opposed to in the evening. Flexion in the morning is related to an increase in injury and that avoiding lumbar flexion in the morning was found to reduce back symptoms.

McGill's advice is not to undertake spine exercises, especially those that involve full spine flexion or bending forward in the morning.

How long should I wait? Would a couple of hours be enough?

[GoldenArrow]

T: You also talk about our increased risk in the morning hours after waking. Can you explain this?

SM: As you know, you’re taller when you wake up in the morning than when you go to bed at night. This is because the discs are hydrophilic, that means they suck up water while you sleep and when there are no stresses present.

After rising, hydrostatic stresses of just walking around and using the muscles during the day compress your spine and the fluid is squeezed out, decreasing the anular tensions in the disc. So, when you wake up the extra height in the discs are analogous to a full water balloon ready to burst and if you bend, you build up much higher stresses in the disc. In fact, the stresses are three times higher than when you perform the same bend two or three hours later.

Now I’m not talking about getting up and going for a walk or perhaps a boxer going for a jog first thing in the morning. I’m talking about heavy bending exercises, like for example the good-morning exercise or doing sit-ups. Somehow people thought that this would be a good thing to do in the morning. It’s the worst possible thing you could do for the back first thing in the morning. I personally have a more favorite morning exercise, it’s what I like to call a "great-morning," but I don’t think my wife would appreciate me talking about it! Full spine bending first thing in the morning is a great way to damage your back—an unwise thing to do.

from http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=271spine2

[kinkymisspinky]

Cheers.

I'm not doing anything heavy, just following the exercises in his book but thought it best to avoid spinal flexion in the morning to be on the safe side.

[Black Knight]

I find that when I can pursuade my very lazy bull terrier to go for a walk first thing in the morning it does wonders for 'loosening up' my back.
Ive stopped any stretching in the morning but still do some self massage using two tennis balls inside an old sock to lay on (top tip given to me by a sports specialist physio, also much cheaper than buying a foam roller every couple of months!)

[the block]

2 balls in a sock! thats brilliant!

[kinkymisspinky]

I find that when I can pursuade my very lazy bull terrier to go for a walk first thing in the morning it does wonders for 'loosening up' my back.
Ive stopped any stretching in the morning but still do some self massage using two tennis balls inside an old sock to lay on (top tip given to me by a sports specialist physio, also much cheaper than buying a foam roller every couple of months!)

Yeah, McGill is a fan of fast walking with swinging arms (swinging at shoulders, not elbows). It helps with reciprocal muscle activation, tissue load sharing, and the arm swinging helps reduce spine loads. Apparently slow walking does not have the same benefits and will tend to exacerbrate symptoms.

Wow. You have worn down foam rollers. I admire your dedication. I've had mine for ages and its showing no signs of wear and tear (mainly because I'm a lazy git and rarely use it).

[Huwt4ng]

Bull Terrier is very high in protein, higher than any other kanine. After walking the dog, how about eating it with a couple of potatoes and some veg.