Spinal factoid 19. Intervertebral discs are largely made of water, especially the inner nucleus. During waking hours when spending most of the time in an upright position, standing walking or sitting (often slumped), the intervertebral discs become compressed and lose moisture. Normally it is only during the night that the pressure is sufficiently reduced so the discs can again soak up lost moisture. This is one reason why we are a little taller when we wake up in the morning and gradually become shorter as the day goes on. Taking 15-20 minutes lying down in semi-supine the Alexander way once or twice during the day allows this re-plumping of the discs and may help prevent unnecessary wear and tear. It would be great if we could all have a siesta and give the discs more space so they can slurp up water again.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 10:03:08 +0000
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