Can Massage Make You Taller?

The other day, a client was complaining to me that they felt they were actually getting smaller from all the sitting they do at their desk job. That got me thinking. “Can Massage Make You Taller?”

Here’s my answer.

Sedentary Lifestyles

In today’s culture, everyone seems to be constantly plugged into some device, be it a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Sedentary lifestyles inevitably result in thousands of hours spent with your body resembling a human question mark—head jutting forward, shoulders are rounding and stomachs getting closer to your knees.

Now all this sedentary office work is making desk jockeys shorter by the minute and making it more and more likely that they’ll get that notorious crick in the neck.

Cricks and Text Neck

A crick in the neck and upper shoulders can develop from over stressing your neck muscles the day before, from awkward sleep positions, from harshly twisting or turning your head during exercise, from having a Smartphone Syndrome posture, or from clocking hours of Quasimodo-like keyboard posture while hunching at your desk.

However, it’s important not to overlook the potential for Smartphone Syndrome—also known as Text Neck—a repetitive use injury that occurs to your upper back, neck muscles, forearms, wrists, and hands caused by a combination of poor posture, excessive texting, and smartphone use.

Forward Head Posture

Did you know that for every inch the head moves forward in posture, it increases the weight of the head by a staggering 10 pounds?

When a 12-pound head is held forward from the shoulders by only 3 inches, it causes 42 pounds of pressure on the neck and upper back muscles.

Rounded Shoulders and Hunched Back Posture

Rounded shoulders cause your upper back muscles to overstretch and tighten the chest muscles. This posture can potentially compress the brachial plexus, the network of nerves that originate in the neck, and feed into the armpit region and down into the arms.

A brachial plexus impingement can lead to a number of problems, ranging from numbness in the hands to thoracic outlet syndrome or carpal tunnel-like symptoms.

Neglected postures, such as rounding your low back while sitting for extended periods in front of the computer, standing for hours stooped over, sleeping improperly, and lifting poorly can all lead to chronic back pain.

Prolonged sitting can put unwanted strain on the lower back, exaggerate the lumbar curve, and potentially cause a bulging or herniated disc.

Deep Tissue Massage for Deskjockeys

Deep tissue massage can help correct these postural distortions by relaxing, loosening, and stretching the overly tight and contracted muscles, teaching you what it feels like to be in proper alignment. The more relaxed your muscles feel the more liberated your joints will be, and this will inevitably improve your journey toward a better, taller posture.

Want to get taller? Book a Massage or check out my popular blog post, 11 Exercises That Will Help You Grow 3 Inches Taller.