I’ve had a few Doctors tell me that long term effects of weightlifting can make one shorter from all the added pressure on the spine from years of working out… Any thoughts???
Yea alot of people who look for an reason of why they dont train with weights, use that excuse alot. It could be true, but its like that Montain Dew Sperm Count Thing. You would have to drink like 200,000,000 Dews to make a noticable difference.
Also I am 6’1 so i am happy with my current height anywayz.
I hear duck! Quack, Quack, Quack
Unless you fracture your bones at the growth plates which are more likely to occur from contact sports than weightlifting. your bones will continue to grow.
As for the spine compressing, I doubt it. Because loading your spine will increase its density.
If it does decrease your height. It probably has to do with poor posture.
studies on an elite powerlifter squating over one thousand pounds showed no spinal compression.
that guy’s just another jackass uninformed doctor who thinks creatine is a steroid, too much protein will kill you, and couldn’t walk out with the bar. (just a generization)
it may make you ‘wider’, which will give you the appearance of being shorter.
but no, it wont make you shorter.
over your lifespan, you will lose 1-2 inches anyways (thru old age).
jaystyles
Yes but then again so will just begin alive. People shink as they get older.
I read about one study (in muscle media cough!) that weightlifter and other active people shrink less as they get older.
If you are really worried about compression you could do a lot of high bar work (i.e. pull-ups, leg raises and well just hanging there). With increased time and if possable extra weight attached the high bar work should balance out the compression of the barbell by strectching you out. This is not very scientific and I have no proof but then again?
But really I would not worry too much about it.
The usually things proper technique, not trying to lift too heavy are a given.
Thought this might help.
Recently I helped my mother get into weight lifting. Among the other benefits her docs were amazed by the help it was to her posture. She actually got taller, not shorter. This by doing deads, squats, benh press, etc. Sticking to the BIG compound movements.
It not only didnt compress her spine, it had the effect of decompressing 50+ years of everyday life compression by strengthening the core muscles. The muscles growing and getting stronger spread the spine back out, corrected some minor posture problems, and the weight lifting was a major contributor to surviving a second bout with cancer in 2 years.
So, I wouldnt worry to much about getting short from lifting. Like others stated, I see it more as just another excuse for ppl to use for not employing weight training.
Lift heavy, lift hard, and reap the plethora of benefits.
Hope that helps,
Phill
People who don’t weight train and suffer from the terrible posture that resluts from being in front of a computer all day (sit up everyone!) are much shorter and have much more spinal compression than someone who weight trains.
That archaic thought process was often based on the fact that weightlifters are short and the weight training made them that way.
Just tell your doctor that you’ll be playing basketball twice per week. I hear it makes you taller.
Actually getting older doesnt mean that you will shrink. OA (osteoarthritis)or RA (Rheumatoid Arth.) will, but Ive seen teenagers with bad spines and 75yo with good ones. I will say this have you ever thought about those people in nursing homes, what does their posture look like, and people on the golf courses what does theirs look like…? same age…hows their health? Degenerative changes will come if your posture is offset improperly …gravity will take hold differently and wear down the joints improperly, but if we dont get things like whiplash, football injuries, or other such calamities that would cause our ligaments become damaged, our nerves to become stressed, and muscles to acquire improper reflex arcs. Unless you are young and lifting alot of weights (ie. western european powerlifters at young ages) it most likely will not affect your height …but core stability is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Screw weight belts …the best one is in you!!!
So dont lose sleep on it. Later
Maybe you should report them for malpractice. They’re fucking morons.
Nick
Nick
Usually I dont talk down to people on here, but that was completely dumb. First it wasn’t malpractice b/c they didnt advise anything or do anything with the comment. And actually as weird as it sounds doctors CAN prescribe the stoppage of exercise to get proper care from being impeded. So don’t just make illogical statements or talk out your ass. That doctor was just saying a long time misconception, besides its the patients decision to do what the doctor says or go get a second opinion, especially if the doctor is not a specialist in the field of what they are talking about. Or go to a physiatrist, chiropractor, or exercise physiologist. Comments like that one are just ignorant.
I’ve heard this from my mother (also a doctor), although she said (paraphrase) “The results of near failure lifts (<5 reps) on the unclosed growth plates of teenagers/children have not been studied enough that I would feel comfortable with you lifting 8x3.”
So there’s another doctor’s opinion.
[quote]biodoc wrote:
Nick
Usually I dont talk down to people on here, but that was completely dumb. [/quote]
Not really. I didn’t care to elaborate because I didn’t think it was necessary.
Sorry, but the original poster did not suggest he had a specific condition that would cause a doctor to make a general comment that weightlifting would make him shorter or cause him any problems. He didn’t say he was still growing, although grow-plates have come up in this thread. Maybe I jumped the gun and should have asked for clarification, but I’ve also had doctors give me totally bogus diet and fitness advice, and it just boggles my mind.
When you’ve put yourself in a position of authority and expertise, as a doctor has, you have a responsibility to give correct advice or refer a patient to someone who can. What’s wrong with saying “Well, you know what? I’m just not sure about that. I can look into it for you, or give you So and So’s phone number, he’s an expert in that field.”?
There is no reason for a doctor to be passing on long-time misconceptions about health-related issues! We’re talking about a DOCTOR, not mom, not some guy in the gym, not an article in Cosmo, or a dude on Oprah, but a DOCTOR. No excuses! It’s so easy to say he can just ignore the doctor’s advice or get a second opinion, but there’s an implicit assumption that a doctor’s advice is worth something and he’s not just talking out of his crack!
I can’t imagine I’d be called unreasonable for expecting a health professional to get health issues right… If you don’t like me talking out of my ass, please, get outraged when doctors do! I’m just some guy on the net, at least I’m not profiting from my incompetence. I’m only hurting myself!
Nick
OK dude
Some doctors just say what they think is best ?remember they are worried about that extra 20+ slabs of muscle you put on my eating like a horse training with REALLY REALLY big weights and sleeping (plus some goodies b/c you can!!). They care about making the symptom (ie, his height problem) the most logical conclusion. Hey can I just state one thing DOCTORS do ?NOT?. KNOW MUCH ABOUT TRAINING or Bodybuilding or Powerlifting. There is no course in ANY med school called Advanced Bodybuilding/Powerlifting Theory 101. But I?ll tell you why he makes this DEDUCTION. He remembers hearing about ?kids stunting their growth by hurting their growth plates OR he thinks ?hey if this person was messed up earlier in life and lifted all the time wouldn?t he just be strengthening a bad thing?(This is why some have a longer leg than the other). Without going too far into something that I would rather not write a chapter on?If bone has more weight on one side of it than the other it will add more bone to the heavier side…hence they are not even. Hey Im actually not saying that you are wrong in saying that the Doc was wrong. All I was saying was that it?s not MALPRACTICE. All your going to do is ruin someone who albeit, may not have the latest info, or always give the best advice when people come to him with problems that really are outside of his scope of practice, but when it is 99% of Docs give ?proper? teaching. But one last thing Everyone is different, lives different lives, has different problems (even when the cause is the same), but actually has almost identical structure (ideally). So when one Doc tells you something, if you don?t like it go ask another Doctor. Hey even Doctors don?t agree on alot.
Of course it does. It also leads to acne, hairy palms, and eventually blindness.
I think this myth started because a lot (not all) of top weightlifters are short. That’s like saying playing basketball will make you grow taller because all the guys in the NBA is tall. However, they (the moronic dooctors) are mixing cause with effect. Being short is a comparative advantage in weightliftng and powerlifting because the bar doesn’t have to go as far so short people who are strong are attracted to the sport. Of course, being short is not as big a comparative advantage in weightlifting as being tall is in basketball.
D-man
Don’t forget that short people cannot compete in most other sports due to relative disadvantages.