The Foam Roller: Incorporating the Fibrous Capsule into Lateral Synovial Joint Loading

I've been trying to cold call and cold e-mail some scientists specializing in cartilage growth and repair(long bone growth is hyaline cartilage growth).  I can't find someone willing to put themselves out there.

Some people have been curious about the proof of the remnants of the hyaline cartilage growth plate line after growth cessation.  There's visible x-ray proof of a hyaline cartilage growth plate line.  A line up high in the growth plate line the same texture of whiteness as the articular cartilage.  Obviously, the best proof would be a microscope slide of a mature epiphysis showing that hyaline cartilage growth plate line.  I have scoured and haven't been able to find such a slide.  There are several sources however that state the hyaline cartilage remains at both the articulating ends of the bone and in the epiphysis.

The other day, I had an epiphany about the fibrous capsule possibly being of great importance in lateral synovial joint loading.  The fibrous capsule is an extension of the periosteum of the long bones and periosteal progenitor cells are of great importance in dristraction osteogensis among other things.  Also important, the fibrous capsule feeds almost directly into the hyaline cartilage growth plate line.  Now these progenitor cells need to be encouraged to undergo a chondrogenic lineage and that's where articular cartilage loading comes in.  Lateral joint loading could cause shear strain of the synovial fluid against the articular cartilage resulting in the upregulation of genes that encourage progenitor cells to undergo a chondrogenic lineage.

Now, are the results of joint loading due to epiphyseal microfracture(stem cells) or periosteal progenitor cells or a combination of both?  There's a way to tell.  With stem cells, you should get larger results with tapping and direct loading of the epiphysis with dumbells.  With progenitor cells, much less weight is needed and results could possibly be gained using very simple equipment like a foam roller(which I mentioned possibly being usable before in my article about rolfing).  It takes a lot less to cause shear strain in the periosteum then it does to cause epiphyseal microfracture.  The foam roller can also be used to cause shear strain on the spinous process of the spinal bones(causing a possible increase in size in the backbone).  I have included some sample pictures of how to use the Foam Roller to cause shear strain on the fibrous capsule and periosteum.

And so on...  The more of your body that's off the ground the better and the greater the amount of load there is on the synovial joint.  Then you slide your joint back and forth against the foam roller.   Now dumbell loading or the table clamp still provides loading on the fibrous capsule.  Using the foam roller is just a way to isolate the effects of fibrous capsule loading versus epiphyseal microfracture.  Theoretically, there should be a way to load(cause shear strain) on all the periosteums of the spinous process of the vertebral bones at once.  Unfortunately, I have not found an efficient way to do that using a foam roller.

Now the periosteum is constantly under shear stress during a sport like running.  However, there's no increase in height(or at least a significant one that's gotten attention) in the tibial or femoral bones of runners.  Well, one thing that's missing is that the progenitor cells aren't encouraged to differentiate into chondrocytes and instead differentiate into osteoblasts increasing cortical bone width.  The periosteal shear occurring during sprinting is mostly along the diaphysis of the bone rather on the epiphysis where there would be more genes encouraging the progeintor cells to undergo a chondrogenic lineage.

Grow Taller with Rolfing?

I wrote an earlier article about the various ways of maintaining proper spinal alignment which included chiropractic, massage, and rolfing.  Rolfing is different from massage even though it will have the same positive effects on your posture(and therefore your height).  Rolfing is a form of deep tissue massage.  Deep tissue massage targets your connective tissue of which articular cartilage is a part of.  We know that dynamic loading of articular cartilage enhances gene expression of anabolic activities for cartilage and chondrocytes.  Deep tissue massage is dynamic loading of articular cartilage.  If your growth plates are still open, deep tissue massage may enhance chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation in your growth plate resulting in increased height.  If you have no active chondrocytes then dynamic loading(deep tissue massage) may give you some height in your cartilage.  If you do re-activate chondrocyte proliferation with a mechanism like lateral synovial joint loading then deep tissue massage will have the same effect on enhancing chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation.

The thing is of course that lateral synovial joint loading is also a mechanism for dynamic loading of the cartilage.  It just also increases interstitial fluid flow in the bone and causes trabecular bone microfractures which releases mesenchymal stem cells.  But, it's very hard to dynamically load the cartilage in the spine(maybe you can use the cobra stretch or side bends preferably finding a way to increase the load over time).  Someone else may be able to force your spinal muscles to the side and get their hands deep in there to provide dynamic load to those intervertebral discs.

We also know that muscle and bone growth tend to be linked.  So, stretching the fascia of muscles could initiate signaling pathways that aid in bone growth.  Proper skeletal alignment and improved nervous system function could help as well.  If you want to try fascia massage, you can try one of these:
It can also provide dynamic loading on your cartilage as well.  Just roll your entire body over it.  Your back, your sides, and your appendages.  Still can't get the spine though cause those pesky ribs are in the way.

Thai traditional massage increases biochemical markers of bone formation in postmenopausal women: a randomized crossover trial.

"Forty-eight postmenopausal women participated in the study. All volunteers were randomized to a 2-hour session of Thai traditional massage twice a week for 4 weeks and a 4-week control period after a 2-week washout, or vice versa. Twenty-one subjects were allocated to receiving Thai traditional massage first, followed by the control period, while 27 were initially allocated to the control period.
Serum P1NP increased significantly after Thai traditional massage, while there was no change in serum osteocalcin or CTX. During the control period, there was no significant change in P1NP, osteocalcin or CTX compared to baseline. When age and height were taken into account, P1NP in postmenopausal women whose ages were in the middle and higher tertiles and whose heights were in the lower and middle tertiles had a 14.8 +/- 3.3% increase in P1NP after massage, while no change in P1NP was found in the rest of the women.
Thai traditional massage results in an increase in bone formation as assessed by serum P1NP, particularly in postmenopausal women who are older and have a smaller body build."

Why would a smaller height be beneficial to increased bone formation in response to rolfing?  Smaller body size may mean that the massage may be more centralized over a smaller area increasing the frequency that an individual part is exposed to load.  "tall postmenopausal women received less repetitive cyclic numbers of massage per body surface area than shorter women during the same period"

"Thai Traditional massage exerts pressure on the body in a rhythmic fashion. The massage
performer uses the outstretched heels of both hands to exert pressure on the body of the
subject approximately once every 1–2 seconds for 2 hours."

No chondrogenic related genes were measured.

Effects of Meridian Massage on physical growth and infants' health as perceived by mothers.

"Meridian Massage is a traditional practice that manually stimulates the body's meridian system - the same network of vital energy channels used in acupuncture. The present study was to assess the effect of Meridian Massage on physical growth and infants' health as perceived by mothers.
A study was conducted in a community health center in Korea. A total of 169 healthy infant-mother dyads were assigned to the Meridian Massage group or the gentle touch massage group, based on the mother's preference. All massages were conducted by the mothers for 15 min per session, one time daily over a course of 6 weeks. In each group, the infant's weights, heights, and the number of days with illness as perceived by mothers and related clinic visits were measured.
Significant differences were observed in weight and height after 6 weeks between the Meridian group and the gentle touch massage group. Infants in the Meridian Massage group showed a significantly different number of days with perceived clinic visits compared to those in the control group.
Meridian Massage may facilitate physical growth and improve infants' health outcome as perceived by mothers. A randomized controlled trial is required to further explore the effects of Meridian Massage in early infancy."

"After completion of the 6-week intervention, the average height growth of infants in the Meridian Massage group was 4.5 ± 0.2 mm, higher than infants in the control group (3.2 ± 0.1 mm)."

The effects of infant massage on weight, height, and mother-infant interaction., found no significant effect of massage on baby height after four weeks. The study was in a foreign language so I could not get it.

Gaining height via chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage?

Spinal alignment is a part of overall body height.  A misaligned spine can affect the alignment of several other bones as well.  It's not just the length of the bones that matters for height or how tall you are it's also the architecture and placement of your bones.

The problem is that the effects of chiropractic treatment are so temporary.  Yes, adjusting the spine can affect overall height but is chiropractic treatment that effective? 

The costs and benefits of nonoperative management for adult scoliosis. 

"A prospective cohort of adult scoliosis patients treated nonoperatively had a minimum of 2-year follow-up during which time data were collected on the type and quantity of nonoperative treatment used... A 2007 systematic review of nonsurgical treatment in adult scoliosis revealed minimal data, and concluded that evidence for nonoperative care was lacking. METHODS: Duration of use and frequency of visits were collected for 8 specific treatment methods: medication, physical therapy, exercise, injections/blocks, chiropractic care, pain management, bracing, and bed rest. Costs for each intervention were determined using the Medicare Fee schedule. Outcome measures were the SRS-22, SF-12, and ODI. Analysis was performed for the entire group, and for subsets of high (ODI, >40), mid (ODI = 21-40) and low (ODI, In 55 scoliosis patients who received no treatment, the only significant change in HRQOL measures over the 2-year period was in SRS satisfaction subscore (0.3 points, P = 0.014). Among the 68 adult scoliosis patients who used nonoperative resources, there was no significant change in any of the HRQOL outcome parameters... An important caveat is that treatment was not randomized and therefore the treatment group might have deteriorated if not for the treatment they received." 

It doesn't matter what HRQOL, SRS, SRS-22, or whatever is.  If scoliosis patients can't get improved spinal alignment from chiropractic care who the hell can?  Chiropractors state that fluid builds up in the joints and that their adjustment procedure helps release it.  Chiropractic adjustments also help adjust the discs back into alignment preventing disc degeneration.  It's much easier to prevent disc degeneration than to try to find methods to encourage disc regeneration.  So as a means to help increase height chiropractic care is more of a means to maintain height or not to cancel out any height gains you get from intervertebral disc growth.  Chiropractic treatment will do nothing to fix spinal alignment however(which would be very useful as almost everyone has scoliosis to some degree). 

The problem I have with chiropractic care is that it's incredibly expensive.  I emphasize with chiropractors because they face the same ridicule as height seekers do from the health community.  Surgery should be the alternative medicine not chiropractic care.  Chiropractic treatment is an essential service that is overpriced given that almost everyone could benefit from it.  The field of chiropractic care suffers from price gouging. 

Unfortunately, chiropractors are needed to at least adjust any spinal bones that are out of alignment.  You just can't have the proper leverage to perform such adjustments on yourself.  You can perform some self-adjustments but not as good as a chiropractor can or someone who copies their methods.  It's hard to find people willing to take the risk though.  Chiropractic treatment does suffer from diminishing returns.  If you go once in a while it makes it easier to perform self adjustments as the bones are already loosened. 

Acupuncture, rolfing, and massage all work the same way.  When your muscles are overstretched your golgi tendon goes "Oh my god!  I'm too tight!  I need to relax!"  Your body releases endorphins(that's why massages feel so good) and your muscles relax.  If your muscles were pulling on your bones a certain way then you will end up with a height increase.  This is again effective for temporary height gain.  Your muscles are tight for a reason. 

It's easy to perform self massage(or rather self overstretching).  You can stretch your tight muscles to the point where they begin to relax(see the hundreds of grow taller e-books or websites), pinch your tight muscles until they relax(like the kneading motion of a massage), or put tight focused pressure on your muscle such as with a finger(acupuncture).   

Massage, and Massage-likes are only effective for a temporary increase in height and are not an effective long term strategy like those that would affect the actual bone(such as lateral synovial joint loading).   

Rolfing might be examined further in the future as it is listed as a method on several height increase sites and it involves connective tissues so it is slightly different than massage.

Hypothesis: upregulation of a muscle-specific isoform of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) by spinal manipulation.

"Spinal manipulation is a manual therapy approach commonly employed by chiropractors, osteopaths and manipulative physiotherapists in the treatment of back pain. It is characterised by a rapid high velocity, low amplitude thrust which commonly causes an audible 'pop' or 'cavitation' in the joint. Any beneficial effects are generally explained with reference to changes in vertebral joint movement. This paper looks at the process of spinal manipulation to see if there is reason to expect effects beyond simple changes in the biomechanics of the spine. It shows that during the process of spinal manipulation, rapid stretching of spinal muscles is inevitable. muscle stretch is a potent stimulus for the upregulation of a splice product of the insulin-like growth factor gene by the stretched muscle{this upregulation could promote chondrogenesis as well}. Evidence that the product of this gene (mechano-growth factor; MGF) promotes muscle growth and repair (myotrophism) is presented, together with evidence that MGF promotes the growth and repair of neurones (neurotrophism). Against this background the hypothesis is proposed that one of the effects of spinal manipulation is to stretch spinal muscles which will upregulate MGF{also known as IGF-1eC} and result in local myotrophic and neurotrophic effects."

" spinal manipulation involves taking joints (usually zygapophyseal joints) near to their physiological end range by gross twisting of the trunk. This is followed by application of a more specific directional force to the joint (‘preload’) to bring it very close to its physiological range of movement. This preload (20–180 N) is followed without any reduction in force by a high velocity, low amplitude thrust (220–550 N) to the joint. The latter force is delivered over 200–400 ms. It pushes the joint briefly beyond its normal physiological range of movement and this event may be associated with an audible ‘pop’ or ‘cavitation’. The process of twisting the spine to a position where the preload and thrust are most efficiently delivered is often referred to as the ‘set-up’. This clearly involves stretch of muscles associated with the vertebral column-it can be seen and patients are aware of it. In contrast to spinal mobilisation, however, the process of spinal manipulation has the capacity to cause brief stretching of already contracting vertebral muscles (eccentric stretch). The electrophysiological evidence for this is as follows: the dynamic thrust has been associated with increased surface electromyographic (SEMG) activity of paraspinal muscles that occurs within 50–200 ms of the thrust and it is likely that both intrinsic and paravertebral muscles are involved. The latency of the SEMG response, however, is too short to be a voluntary contraction. Instead it has a latency within the range for the human stretch reflex that has been determined with cross-correlation and signal averaging techniques. This is strong evidence that spinal manipulation elicits a stretch reflex. This view is supported by experimental studies in the anaesthetised cat, where dorsoventral impulses applied to the L6 vertebra to mimic spinal manipulation evoked reflex neural activity that was recorded in the L6 dorsal roots and identified as coming from primary and secondary afferents to muscle spindles. The short intrinsic spinal muscles have a much higher muscle spindle density than longer onesand this suggests that they are particularly sensitive to stretch. Taken together, this data indicates that spinal manipulation is likely to cause eccentric contraction of extrafusal muscles of the spine, since a myotatic reflex is stimulated within 50–200 ms of the thrust and this falls well within the timescale of the thrust, let alone any ‘follow-through’ force that may be delivered.."