The Real Reason You Feel Taller After an Adjustment
Have you ever walked out of a chiropractic appointment feeling like you’re standing straighter and somehow taller? That sensation isn’t just in your head – there’s actually a reason behind why many patients experience this immediate change after spinal adjustments.
While chiropractic care can’t actually make your bones grow longer, it could help you reach your full height potential in ways that might surprise you.
Your Spine Compresses More Than You Think
Throughout a normal day, the density and weight of your body takes a toll on your spine. The constant pressure of being upright compresses your spinal vertebrae, and you may lose up to a centimeter of height in an average day. This is why you’re actually slightly taller when you wake up in the morning compared to when you go to bed.
Chiropractic adjustments provide decompressive effects. Your Chiropractor helps restore the optimal ranges of motion in your spinal joints, allowing for your true height to express itself. Removing stress from your nervous system and body also allows you to switch from sympathetic “fight, flight, freeze” mode when your body actually flexes forward into protection mode. When your spine and nervous system can flow and move freely, your parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode allows you to open, extend and breathe!
What Happens During Spinal Decompression
When chiropractors perform adjustments, they’re essentially creating (very small) space between compressed vertebrae. The discs between the vertebrae in your spine act as cushions, and anything that deflates those cushions can detract from your height, including poor posture, misalignment, and daily gravitational compression.
Chiropractic adjustments work by providing negative pressure in the area around the spinal discs, allowing the vertebrae to relax and lengthen. Your intervertebral disc height decreases when your compressed spine causes the fluid inside a disc to leak. By decompressing your intervertebral discs, chiropractic adjustments reduce pressure on your discs, allowing them to relax to a more normal state and improve the integrity of the disc.
The Posture Connection
Poor posture is one of the biggest factors that can make you appear shorter than your natural height. Years of slouching, hunching over computers, or carrying heavy bags can alter your natural spinal curvature. Over time, slumping and slouching can shift your body’s natural curves, stunting or masking your natural height.
When chiropractors correct spinal misalignments, they’re helping restore your spine’s natural curvature. This allows you to stand at your full natural height. Think of it like straightening a bent straw – the straw doesn’t actually get longer, but when it’s straight, it reaches its full length potential.
Beyond Height: The Real Benefits
While feeling taller is a nice bonus, the real benefits of spinal decompression go far beyond height perception. Proper spinal alignment supports optimal nerve function, improves posture, reduces pain, and enhances overall mobility. Many patients also report better breathing, improved confidence, and reduced tension throughout their body.
If you’ve been feeling compressed, hunched, or simply not standing as tall as you’d like, the team at Courtyard Chiropractic Health Centre can help assess your spinal health and create a personalized treatment plan. Experience the confidence that comes from standing at your full height potential – schedule your adjustment today and discover how much taller you can feel.