Your spine is made of intricate structure of strong bones, flexible ligaments and tendons, extensive muscles, and a highly sensitive spinal cord and nerve roots. For some reason, not many people think about their spine’s form and function until some form of pain starts to manifest.
Curious now? Well, you probably should be because this will help you know just how much it can allow you to do and start realizing that you need to protect and take care of it too. Your spine provides you a unique combination of:
· Protection for the spinal cord and nerve roots to safely relay messages to and from the brain and the rest of the body
· Shock absorption, accepting jolts and stress as we move about
· Flexibility, especially in the lower back and neck, allowing us to bend and twist in a full variety of movements
· Strength provided by the bones, discs, joints, and supportive muscles and connective tissues for upright posture and precision movements
Despite its seemingly well-rounded composition, back pain still happens to most people due to a lot of different reasons. The thing is, when this happens, it could mean a serious injury or changes related to age that can test the structure of your spine and cause painful conditions. To learn more about those, dig in even further and be enlightened and maybe start being proactive not just with your spine’s health but as well as you overall well-being.
Lower Back Pain And Sciatica
Your lower back is composed of 5 vertebrae that are very susceptible for wear and tear given that they are relatively mobile yet carry the most load. Although some lower back pain is mainly due to muscle strain, it can also be due to more serious injury like sciatica. Most of the motion occurs on the L4-L5 and L5-S1 part of your lumbar spine which is where the sciatica nerve is connected.
The sciatica nerve is one of the largest nerves of your body. It runs all the way down from the lower spine over the buttock to both feet to provide movement, feeling, and strength in both legs. Now, this nerve can become irritated and cause pain which can happen due to a number of causes such as lumbar spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, pregnancy, muscle spasm, obesity, not enough physical activity, wearing high heels, or sleeping on a mattress that’s too soft.
You may have noticed that some of the causes of sciatica pain are an underlying health issue, that’s because sciatica is actually a symptom and not a condition in itself. However, your lifestyle can play a role in making it worse. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t let this go untreated because not only that it can be debilitating, but also lead to more serious problems.
Neck Pain And Arm Pain
Neck pain is one of the most common reasons why people seek medical help these days. In fact, you’d be surprised to hear someone say he/she had never experienced neck pain because the modern lifestyle has made neck pain the new norm. It also comes with a myriad of other abnormalities, which is usually only discovered upon physical examination, digital posture analysis, and functional movement and of course X-Ray.
The cervical spine (neck) supports the weight of your head and protects the nerve pathways that travel from your brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. There are 7 vertebrae that run from the base of the skull down to the top of the thoracic (chest) region), labeled C1 to C7. The vertebrae at the top of the cervical spine are smaller and highly mobile, while the vertebrae at the base of the neck are larger.
Now, while neck pain can be a simple sign of fatigue or muscle strain, there are cases where it’s more serious. This is when the pain has persisted for weeks or months and the pain has started traveling to your arm and showing other symptoms. These cases can be due to whiplash injury, cervical herniated disc, cervical spinal stenosis, cervical degenerative disc disease, or cervical osteoarthritis.
Upper Back Pain
The 12 vertebrae in the upper back, labeled T1 down to T12, comprise the thoracic spine. Each of the thoracic vertebrae are attached to the rib cage, providing a great deal of stability and structural support to protect the heart, lungs, and other important organs within the chest.
Since the thoracic spine doesn’t move as much as your lower back and neck, it’s not as prone to injury as well. But even so, muscle spasms, joint dysfunction, and thoracic herniated discs can still happen which can cause a lot of pain for your upper back too.
Hopefully, all this information helps you understand your spine more in order for you to explain your symptoms and your pain to your doctor in the future. Just keep in mind not to disregard back pain all the time, especially if it’s recurring and increases intensity along with other symptoms. It’s always best to seek medical attention.
You may want to consider including chiropractic care as a part of your health regimen. Not only because it treats your back pain and other related conditions but also because it can prevent it from happening in the first place. Back pain and any kind of spine condition can be serious, don’t take it for granted if there’s an available help that you can get. Although some cases only require you to take a couple of days rest, there are those that are serious and need professional help.