What makes the Spine so important?
Most people simply know where the spine is and know it is an important part of the body but many do not know details about the spine. So in this article we will talk more about these important bones in our body.
The spine also known as the vertebral column is made up of 33 vertebrae (Drake, Vogl & Mitchell, 2015). The vertebrae are grouped into 4 regions namely the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and coccygeal (Drake, Vogl & Mitchell, 2015). There are 7 vertebrae in the cervical region, 12 in the thoracic region, 5 in the lumbar and 5 in the sacral and 4 in the coccygeal region (Drake, Vogl & Mitchell, 2015).
The main roles of the spine are to provide support the body, protect the nervous system and also together with the muscles on the back allow movement of the body (Drake, Vogl & Mitchell, 2015). However, what makes the spine so important is that many nearly all parts of the body are connected to the spine by the nervous system and vertebral subluxation (Dodsworth, n.d.) or misalignments in the spine (WHO, 2005) can affect other parts of the body (Dodsworth, n.d.). Vertebral subluxation in the cervical area can lead to headaches or vertigo and dislocations in the thoracic and lumbar region can effect some of the digestive organs (Dodsworth, n.d.).
The health of our spine is of paramount importance and we need to take good care of our spine. For more information about spinal health, you can make an appointment with All Well Scoliosis centre and find out more.
References:
Drake, R.L., Vogl, A.W., & Mitchell, A.W.M. (2015). Chapter 2 Back. Gray’s Anatomy for
Students. Churchill Livingstone: Canada. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/GraysAnatomyForStudents
Dodsworth, P. (n.d.). Vertebral subluxation and nerve chart. Paul Dodsworth Chiropractor.
Retrieved from: http://www.pauldodsworth.com/NerveChart.pdf
World Health Organisation (WHO). (2005). WHO guidelines on basic training and safety in
chiropractic. World Health Organisation. Essential Medicines and Health Products Information Portal by World Health Organisation. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/medicines/areas/traditional/Chiro-Guidelines.pdf
Written by Eugene Ko for All Well Scoliosis Centre
