It is just 10 days away from the annual celebration of World Spine Day (WSD). The intention of WSD is to raise and promote awareness about spinal health and other spine-related disorders. Just like what you are reading here now, our blog posts strive to provide you the knowledge about your spine. We are going to share with you some very basic yet important information about spine, which will help you to understand better with your own spinal health, and know what treatments to seek for if you are visiting a family doctor, a Chiropractor, or a Physiotherapist
The human spine is a complex unit that combines the structures of both the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. It consists of 33 or 34 bone segments (vertebrae) with 344 articulation surfaces, 23 intervertebral discs and 365 ligaments. These numbers are just an indication of how complex this system can be. The spine has four regions, each of which consists, normally, of a fixed number of vertebrae:
- The cervical region: 7 vertebrae
- The thoracic region: 12 vertebrae;
- The lumbar region: 5 vertebrae;
- The sacrum and coccyx: 9 – 10 vertebrae.
The vertebrae of each region have their unique morphological and functional characteristics. It is these characteristics of which the vertebrae possess at different regions, result in different dynamics movements of the spine. Another word, the shape of the vertebrae, the articulating surfaces, the size of the bones, the curvature of the spine at different regions help the body to adapt to the demands from external forces relating to the two important functions of the human spine:
- The function of supporting the weight of the head, trunk and upper limb and
- The function of ensuring an adequate amount of mobility.
With so many different factors that may potentially influence the functions of a human spine, a thorough assessment and treatment should be warranted if one is seeking professional advice on how to achieve better spinal health. Personalized approach is a must, as different individuals will have their own unique morphological and functional characteristics in their spine that need to be attended to specifically.
At Essential Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Centre, we ensure this part of the concern be addressed properly for a patient-centered treatment. The way we do this is through a detailed spinal analysis by our Chiropractic BioPhysics or CBP certified Chiropractor. CBP® Technique emphasizes optimal posture and spinal alignment as the primary goals of chiropractic care while simultaneously documenting improvements in pain and functional based outcomes. Feel free to visit https://idealspine.com/what-is-cbp/ to know more about it.
Regards,
Dr Chew Wei Lun
D.C., CFMP®, Certified CBP®
