While you may not think about it on a daily basis, our spine is one of the most interesting and important parts of body. Without it, we would literally collapse!
While most back pain is muscular in nature, there are a host of problems that can stem from your backbones. For instance, a slipped disk or herniated disk can be quite painful.
Simply put, your spine is nothing more than a group of bones in a line up the center of your back. The individual bones are referred to as the vertebrae.
There are thirty three bones in the back in all. There are twenty four vertebrae, the sacrum (which is actually five vertebrae fused together, and the tailbone, or coccyx (four vertebrae fused together).
The individual vertebrae are stacked on top of each other from about the level of your belly button up to your head. When our back is in good health, the bones of the spine are strong and dense.
As is the case with all bones, the vertebrae get their strength primarily from two important minerals -- calcium and phosphate. When there is a shortage or loss of these minerals because of an inactive lifestyle or diseases such as osteoporosis, they lose their structure and strength.
Unless they are weakened in this way or are damaged in an accident or fall, they do not typically break or wear out. There are four general regions which back up this vital support system.
Starting with the neck and progressing down to the pelvis, the regions are the cervical region, the thoracic region, the lumbar region, and the sacral region. All of these regions work together and provide support and stability for much of the weight of the upper body.
Each bony level has a passage that forms a tunnel for the spinal cord, thus protecting the spinal cord as it extends downward from the brain. While the structure provides protection and support, its design also allows you to bend, twist, rotate, and otherwise move your upper body in every direction.
The bones themselves do not actually bend or twist-the flexibility comes from structures between the skeleton, called facet joints and intervertebral disks. These intervertebral disks are situated between the bones, creating a space for nerves branching out from the spinal cord to other areas of the body.
The disks are made of tough rings of fibrous elastic material called cartilage; if you sliced a disk horizontally, it would look something like an onion cut through its middle.
At the center of the rings of fibro-elastic tissue is a thick fluid with the consistency of very cold molasses. Together, the rings and the jellylike center of the disk act as a shock absorber, much like the shock absorbers on a car.
When healthy, they take up much of the shock that walking, running, jumping, and even sitting can incur upon us. Every time you bend, extend, or twist, there is a change of pressure in the fluid-filled area of the disk.
In moderate amounts, this change of pressure is actually good for us. In the long term, however, excessive forward bending movements can damage the rings that hold the fluid in place.
Unfortunately, this bending motion is one that many people use repeatedly throughout a typical day to reach or lift objects. Even slumped sitting may expose the disks to possible injury.
This damage starts at the rings in the center of the disk, closest to the fluid, and then progresses toward the outermost rings. The condition has often been called a slipped disk.
However, it does not actually slip out from between the bones. Rather, the fluid begins to break through the rings.
When this condition has advanced to the point where there are only a few rings left holding the fluid inside, the condition is known as bulging. These bulges can push into the cord or the nerves exiting the cord.
If all the rings tear, the vertebrae has ruptured, or herniated. Some people experience a condition called degenerative disease.
This condition usually progresses over many years. In this process, one or more vertebrae dry out, losing their ability to absorb the loads and shock placed on them with everyday activities.
Age also has an effect on your back. At age twenty, the disks are made up of about seventy percent water.
The more carefully we protect ourselves when working out and going about our daily activities, the longer the health of our back will last. As the doctor says, lift from the knees, not from the back!
Author Resource:-
Tom Selwick has been involved with medicine for over 20 years. He specializes in spinal recovery medicine and recommends Salt Lake City Chiropractic for all your back needs.
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