Where do we stiffen up ?

 

It’s no surprise to you dear reader that our flexibility and range of motion decreased in our spine as we age but there is not as much published research as you would think as to where this occurs within the spine, particularly in the normal population.

 

In a great new study published in Springer Nature the authors looked at 600 people that did not report significant neck pain and they examined what individual segments we actually loose range of motion in our necks as we age.

What they found was pretty interesting. The older you get the more range of motion you loose in the lower part of your neck but the upper part where the spine joins the base of the skull remains pretty mobile your entire life. This is reassuring both for patients and therapists that the range of motion in our upper joints stays pretty good.

You an see the differences clearly in the graphs below

 

The other thing that surprised me was how linear the loss was up until about age 70 where after that it actually slows down a bit. I would have guessed that the most marked loss of range of motion would have been in the last decade of the graph.

Just a reminder that Niseko Chiropractic will be available for mobile locals consultations over the summer and also at the  ” Studio ” powder yoga’s newest premises.

To make an appointment with Brent Verco please click on the link below

www.nisekochiropractic.com/appointments

 

If you would like to read the full study you can do so on the link below

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32694318/