What causes spine shrinkage?

Introduction

Spine shrinkage, or the reduction in spinal height, can occur due to various factors, including physical activities, body posture, and physiological processes. Understanding the causes of spine shrinkage is crucial for developing strategies to mitigate its effects, particularly in individuals who are prone to back pain or other spinal issues.

Key Insights

Physical Activity and Exercise-Induced Loading:
- Running at higher speeds increases spinal shrinkage, with faster speeds causing more significant shrinkage.
- Repetitive torsional motions impose a larger cumulative load on the spine compared to lateral or flexion motions, leading to more significant spinal shrinkage.
- Prolonged compressive loading, such as carrying a load on the shoulders, results in spinal shrinkage and alters muscle activity patterns.
Posture and Work-Related Factors:
- Working in a standing posture leads to greater spinal shrinkage compared to working in a sitting posture, with the lumbar spine being more affected.
- Different types of work, particularly those involving heavy workloads, result in more significant spinal shrinkage compared to lighter workloads.
Body Mass Index (BMI) and Obesity:
- Obesity is positively correlated with spinal shrinkage, with obese individuals experiencing greater reductions in standing height compared to those with normal BMI.
Neuronal and Synaptic Activity:
- Activity-induced dendritic spine shrinkage in the brain is driven by NMDA receptor signaling, which can occur independently of calcium ion influx .
- Cofilin, an actin-regulating protein, plays a crucial role in dendritic spine shrinkage, with its activity being modulated by phosphorylation and protease activity .

Conclusion

Spine shrinkage is influenced by a combination of physical activities, body posture, workload, and physiological factors such as BMI and neuronal activity. High-intensity physical activities, particularly those involving repetitive torsional motions or prolonged compressive loading, significantly contribute to spinal shrinkage. Additionally, working in a standing posture and carrying heavy loads exacerbate this condition. Obesity further amplifies spinal shrinkage due to the persistent load on the spine. In the context of neuronal activity, NMDA receptor signaling and cofilin regulation are critical mechanisms driving dendritic spine shrinkage. Understanding these factors can help in developing targeted interventions to reduce spine shrinkage and its associated health impacts.

What causes spine shrinkage?

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Running speed and spinal shrinkage in runners with and without low back pain.

Running speed and spinal shrinkage are independent of low back pain, suggesting that running speed affects spinal shrinkage in runners without low back pain.

Non-Ionotropic NMDA Receptor Signaling Drives Activity-Induced Dendritic Spine Shrinkage

Non-ionotropic NMDA receptor signaling, independent of calcium influx, drives activity-induced dendritic spine shrinkage in the brain during development.

Spinal shrinkage during repetitive controlled torsional, flexion and lateral bend motion exertions

Repetitive torsional motions cause greater spinal shrinkage compared to controlled lateral or flexion tasks of similar moment.

Shrinkage of Dendritic Spines Associated with Long-Term Depression of Hippocampal Synapses

Long-term depression in hippocampal synapses leads to dendritic spine shrinkage, which can be reversed by high-frequency stimulation, suggesting different pathways involved in spine shrinkage and LTD.

State-dependent diffusion of actin-depolymerizing factor/cofilin underlies the enlargement and shrinkage of dendritic spines

Cofilin plays a crucial role in regulating dendritic spine enlargement and shrinkage, with phosphorylated-cofilin accumulation playing a key role in spine enlargement and spine shrinkage spreading to neighboring spines.

Activity-Dependent Dendritic Spine Shrinkage and Growth Involve Downregulation of Cofilin via Distinct Mechanisms

Activity-dependent dendritic spine shrinkage and growth involve decreased cofilin activity, but the mechanism of inhibition determines the outcome for spine morphology.

Flexion relaxation of erector spinae response to spinal shrinkage.

Spinal shrinkage caused by prolonged compressive loading alters the flexion relaxation characteristic of erector spinae muscles, potentially contributing to low back disorders.

Effects of Type of Work and Age on Spinal Shrinkage

Spinal shrinkage is influenced by heavy and light workloads, but not age, with no correlation found between the two factors.

Spinal shrinkage during work in a sitting posture compared to work in a standing posture.

Work in a standing position for 6.5 hours causes greater spine shrinkage than work in a sitting position, with lumbar spine shrinkage being greater due to differences in lumbar lordosis and bending and torsion during handling work materials.

Spinal shrinkage as a measure of spinal loading in male Saudi university students and its relationship with body mass index.

Spinal shrinkage is positively correlated to BMI, indicating a persistent load on the spine in obese individuals, which may inspire individuals to change their lifestyles.

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