Running and disc height loss

Running and disc height loss occurs with moderate intensity after 30 minutes.

Many people complain about spinal related pain in and around the act of running.  Here is a wonderful article from Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Running is a form of spinal compression but it is also a form of decompression.

These researchers found that the net result of 30 minutes of moderate running caused significant disc height loss in the spine. They found the discs lost about 6% of their height which can be quite substantial if the discs are already compressed.