Okinawa Sports and Spinal research update

 

Now and then something really interesting comes up in the research literature.

This is one of those days. In recent study published in the  JOR spine  the authors looked at the relationship between the presence unhealthy gut bacteria and degenerative changes in the lumbar spine where there is weakened and damaged discs and one of the vertebra moves forward over the other known as a degenerative spondylolisthesis ( LDS) .

In the study the divided the LDS group with a group that did have degenerative changes and then checked stool samples for traces of altered gut bacteria known as dysbiosis and what they found is that people with degenerative changes in their spine were far more likely have altered gut flora.

The theory is that a healthy gut may have a protective function for our spinal discs help our bodies preserve normal structure as we age. This likely regulating autoimmune responding, increasing nutrition to vulnerable blood flow structures like cartilage and ligaments. 

This study like many others points towards a growing body of research that points to the importance of limiting chronic inflammation in the body and keeping your gut healthy as it may have implications in some of the most surprising places. 

 

References

 

1. Aboushaala K, Chee AV, Adnan D, et al. Gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis in symptomatic patients. JOR Spine. 2024; 7(4):e70005. doi:10.1002/jsp2.70005