Foundation for Active Kids

Being a Santa Barbara resident for one and a half years has made me realize once again how imperative it is to have a solid foundation for a building. This particular region is subject to constant mild seismic activity and mudslides caused by occasional downpours of rain. Of course, I can't help but make the following comparison:

The foundation of a building is just like our spinal column!

If there is a faulty foundation, everything built upon it will be weaker, more susceptible to damage, in need of frequent repairs, and possibly complete tear-down. Well, if a spine is uneven, imbalanced, has lateral curves, and possible cracks, the body will be weaker, more susceptible to damage, in need of frequent repairs, and at one point will collapse. While we notice these changes start affecting us in our 30's, and really feel them set in in our 50's, they may have began much earlier, at a time that our foundation was just being laid down. And upon that faulty foundation we experience the daily routine of tiny earthquakes and the occasional marathons of rainfalls and mudslides.

Now imagine that you have a child with a foundational fault of a very mild scoliosis, 5-10 degrees.

This is what is happening to their body:

1. The side of the body of the curve has elongated, lax muscles, and the side of concavity will have very rigid, contracted muscles.
2. The curve will also have 3 main stress points, at the start, in the middle and at the end. The start and end vertebra will be laterally flexed the most, tipping to the side, and the ones in the middle will be compressed.
3. If this curve has been there since birth, at this point the brain actually thinks that it's normal. The brain can't tell the difference because the position of the head has been changed, and the eyes are now perfectly aligned with the horizon so that your child doesn't trip every time they take a step.

Now, let's pretend that instead of the tiny seismic activity of .5-1 magnitude, your child's foundation is going to be challenged by 3.0 earthquakes of daily sports activities and a mudslide during a huge competitive event.

One side dominant sports (golf, tennis, hockey, baseball) will create stress and more imbalance in the body. Milder side dominance sports (soccer, basketball, football, volleyball) which all involve running and coordination will reinforce the skeletal structure by the nature of the visual feedback loop. Also, running and jumping will add loading and compression forces to the spine and cause more stress on the unstable fulcrum points of the curve. And this is what starts to happen:

1. The discs will begin to lose hydration.
2. The space between the vertebrae and discs will decrease.
3. The opening through which the nerves pass will decrease.
4. Inflammation in the area will increase causing pain.
5. Repeating the activity will create greater instability.
6. Instability will cause splinting of muscles.
7. Repeated stress on the muscles will pull on the bones, triggering calcium deposition (later creating spurs).
8. Pain increases, which may result in cortisone treatments (which lead to osteoporosis and immune system dysfunction later in life if used frequently).

As a result, we have successfully built the foundation for
degenerative disc and joint disease!

But, let me end on a positive note. Builders who understand the topography and climate of a susceptible area are well equipped to create a foundation for a home that will withstand the stress it must endure. The home will require it's weekly upkeep, may need some cosmetic work after 15 or 20 years, and perhaps a bigger renovation in 40 or 50, but a solid, proper foundation will allow this home to age gracefully and become the pinnacle of it's neighborhood.