Running exercise strengthens the intervertebral disc Belavý, Daniel L, Quittner, Matthew J, Ridgers, Nicola, Ling, Yuan, Connell, David and Rantalainen, Timo 2017, Running exercise strengthens the intervertebral disc, Scientific reports, vol. 7, pp. 1-8, doi: 10.1038/srep45975. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads belavy-runningexercise-2017.pdf Published version application/pdf 792.41KB 248 Title Running exercise strengthens the intervertebral disc Author(s) Belavý, Daniel L orcid.org/0000-0002-9307-832X Quittner, Matthew J Ridgers, Nicola orcid.org/0000-0001-5713-3515 Ling, Yuan Connell, David Rantalainen, Timo orcid.org/0000-0001-6977-4782 Journal name Scientific reports Volume number 7 Article ID 45975 Start page 1 End page 8 Total pages 8 Publisher Nature Publishing Group Place of publication London, Eng. Publication date 2017-04-19 ISSN 2045-2322 2045-2322 Keyword(s) Medical research Physiology Intervertebral discs (IVDs) Running exercise Physical activity Science & technology Multidisciplinary sciences Science & technology - other topics In vivo Degeneration Injuries Regions Life Summary There is currently no evidence that the intervertebral discs (IVDs) can respond positively to exercise in humans. Some authors have argued that IVD metabolism in humans is too slow to respond anabolically to exercise within the human lifespan. Here we show that chronic running exercise in men and women is associated with better IVD composition (hydration and proteoglycan content) and with IVD hypertrophy. Via quantitative assessment of physical activity we further find that accelerations at fast walking and slow running (2 m/s), but not high-impact tasks, lower intensity walking or static positions, correlated to positive IVD characteristics. These findings represent the first evidence in humans that exercise can be beneficial for the IVD and provide support for the notion that specific exercise protocols may improve IVD material properties in the spine. We anticipate that our findings will be a starting point to better define exercise protocols and physical activity profiles for IVD anabolism in humans. Language eng DOI 10.1038/srep45975 Field of Research 110699 Human Movement and Sports Science not elsewhere classified Socio Economic Objective 970111 Expanding Knowledge in the Medical and Health Sciences HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal ERA Research output type C Journal article Copyright notice ©2017, The Authors Free to Read? Yes Use Rights Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30094317 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Health School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Open Access Collection Related Links Link Description Connect to published version Go to link with your DU access privileges   Connect to Elements publication management system Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Wed, 26 Apr 2017, 09:54:12 EST Wed, 26 Apr 2017, 09:55:10 EST Thu, 27 Apr 2017, 05:00:12 EST Thu, 27 Apr 2017, 07:49:00 EST Mon, 08 May 2017, 06:05:04 EST Sat, 13 May 2017, 02:30:52 EST Sat, 13 May 2017, 02:33:34 EST Tue, 27 Jun 2017, 10:55:15 EST Tue, 27 Jun 2017, 11:02:59 EST Tue, 27 Jun 2017, 11:09:47 EST Tue, 27 Jun 2017, 11:10:33 EST Thu, 29 Jun 2017, 14:18:22 EST Fri, 07 Sep 2018, 12:38:28 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 43 times in TR Web of Science Cited 45 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 671 Abstract Views, 252 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Wed, 26 Apr 2017, 09:55:10 EST