Movement as Medicine: How Yoga Movements Rethink Alzheimer's Treatment
Research shows specific spine movements can increase cerebral spinal fluid flow by 15x, suggesting Alzheimer's may be linked to reduced movement rather than just brain chemistry.
Physicist Zdenko Grajcar developed a device that mimics yoga movements to increase cerebral spinal fluid flow, potentially offering a new approach to treating Alzheimer's disease.
While pharmaceutical companies have spent billions testing drugs for Alzheimer's with limited success, simple movement practices like yoga show real benefits. The problem? Scientists couldn't explain why.
Physicist Zdenko Grajcar found the missing link. His research suggests specific spine movements act as a pump for cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), which cleans the brain of toxins and metabolic waste.
Working with researchers at Finland's University of Oulu, Grajcar tested a device that replicates the cat-cow yoga pose. The results surprised everyone - it increased CSF flow by 15 times normal levels.
"Alzheimer's is not a true brain disease," Grajcar says. "That's why we can't find a cure. Alzheimer's is a motion disease."
This explains several patterns:
- As we age, we move less
- Blood pressure rises
- Arteries harden
- Modern lifestyles become more sedentary
The implications change how we think about brain health. Rather than focusing only on drugs, treatment could include specific movements that increase CSF flow.
The device Grajcar developed helps people who can't do yoga get the same benefits. Users sit in a specially-designed chair that gently moves their spine. Most fall into a meditative state within five minutes.
"Out of around 2700 phase II and phase III clinical trials on Alzheimer's disease, literally 100% of them failed... If you have a flat tire and you change it 2700 times and you fail every single time, wouldn't you revisit how you are doing it?"
Grajcar's company Ciatrix is now running clinical trials with a unique twist - they're making the process transparent and open to crowdfunding. This shifts brain health research from pure pharmaceuticals toward testing movement-based therapies.
The research opens new questions about how movement impacts brain health and may lead to fresh approaches for treating neurodegenerative conditions.
Read more at Startup Health: https://www.startuphealth.com/startup-health-blog/ciatrix-revolutionizing-brain-health-through-the-science-of-movement
