Common Health Issues

Spine Anatomy and Pain Causes

• By Grandmaster. E Ikpeme
• October 07, 2024

The back is technically the spine and is made up of several parts. Looking from the side, it makes a long S-curve. The spine has four main curves: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar and the fused sacral/coccyx. The curves are not present at birth and only begin to develop when an infant achieves vertical standing and at toddler stage when he or she begins to walk.

 

The downward press of gravity shapes the spine and gives each curve an all-important role in maintaining the health of the back and producing bipedal stance.

 

ANATOMY OF THE SPINE

 

The Cervical Spine

The cervical spine or upper neck can be felt at your hairline, just at the base of the skull. It is responsible for tipping the chin upwards and downwards. The upper part of the cervical spine also contains the muscles responsible for eye motions.

If you keep your fingertips at the base and dart your eyes back and forth, you’ll detect the motion of these fine muscles.

 

The lower cervical spine is convex-shaped. You can usually feel the prominent southernmost vertebra as it meets the shoulders. The neck has the greatest amount of range of motion of the spine. It can create a telescoping effect and can swivel to almost look completely behind you.

 

The Thoracic Spine

This has a concave shape and is connected with the rib cage. You can trace the prominent spinous processes, the visible bumps of the spine, by running your thumbs from your shoulders down to the top of your waist. It is chronically stiff since it’s girded by the rib cage, so developing mobility in the thoracic spine requires patience.

 

 

The Lumbar Spine

Put your hands around your waist to find the lumbar spine. This part of the spine is particularly vulnerable because it’s balancing the weight of the trunk against the unwieldy weighty legs. What’s special about the lumbar spine is its springboard effect on the spine. Its convex shape allows the impact against the ground to dissipate as you step

 

 

The Sacrum

Finally, place your hands on your hip bones, fingers facing forward, and your thumbs will end up on top of the fused vertebrae of the sacrum. Very large forces converge here—at the sacroiliac joints—the place where the lumbar spine and the sacrum meet. 

 

That means that this area is extremely vulnerable and requires careful positioning and handling if you are to avoid injury. At the bottom of the fusion lies the coccyx, or tailbone.

 

 

The Discs

These are pieces of cartilage that lie between the vertebrae. Think of them as being like doughnuts, with a soft center and a hard exterior. They provide cushioning in between the vertebrae but, even more importantly, they give range to the spine so it can bend and twist as required.

Protecting the spine means protecting these all-important discs. And that is achieved by strengthening the back and by learning posture control.

 

 

Posture and The Back

Posture is important both to the strength of your back and to how you appear. It can make you look dumpy, tired and old, or together confident and lithe. Fortunately, posture is not all down to your genetic inheritance. There is much you can do to improve it and prevent gravity from winning out.

 

 

The Slumps

This posture pushes the head forwards out of line, rounds the shoulder and leads to a slouched pelvis. Besides being aesthetically unappealing, it places enormous strain on the discs.

 

The Sway Back

Catwalk models perform the sway to make themselves appear “cool.” The sway-back posture makes the shoulders lean and compresses the lower spine while reversing the thoracic area. In a nutshell—stand up straight.

 

 

Hyperlordosis

This is an exaggerated curve of the lumbar spine. It weakens the springboard effect provided by the lower back to the rest of the spine. It also shortens the stabilizing muscles of the pelvis. It’s not only pregnant women and those with apple-body types who fall into this category. Athletic people tend to get tight hips that can throw them into this posture.