Spinal curvature – the key to healthy life
Over and over again, we have been talking about how important is the spinal curvature to a person health. Also, how the spinal curves can affect a person musculoskeletal health. Here is just a short list of the benefits of having a healthy spine:
- Better movement
Lesser aches and pain- Stronger posture
- Healthier life
- Better sport performance
- Lesser restricted motion
- More Flexible
- and more
Recently a research study has looked into this topic again to examine how important is one’s spinal curvature to the trunk muscles, even when the individual is not experiencing any symptoms of pain and discomfort. The outcome of the study has been published in the European Spine Journal, authored by Walaa Elsayed, Ahmed Farrag, Qassim Muaidi, and Nora Almulhim. Sharing here is the key points from abstract of the research study.
The Study
They gather 79 asymptomatic spine and measure their thoracic and lumbar curve angles. This measurement was done using the Formetric 4D device. In order to achieve an indicator of the spinal balance, the Thoracolumbar ratio was calculated. They then test the trunk muscles of these 79 subjects in 60°/s seated and semi-standing positions. Their result found that both trunk flexion and extension are closely associated with the spinal curvatures. A better balanced spine with healthy curvatures is stronger with better trunk muscle strength.
The conclusion
They come to a conclusion that side way spinal curvatures and balance are associated with trunk muscles strength in adults, particularly, the lumbar spine muscles. Therefore, assessment of sagittal spinal balance and trunk muscles strength should be taken into consideration when designing rehabilitation programs for correction of spine.
Please refer to https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00586-017-5454-3 for more details of this study.
Tags CorrectiveChiropractic Rehabilitation
