Spine
The most magnificent part of the body is... THE SPINE! (haha you knew we'd say that)
The Central Nervous System is so vital to overall health and functioning of the human body that it is protected by the hardest substance in the body — a series of vertebral bones that make up THE SPINAL COLUMN.
The human vertebral column, or spinal column, is a highly versatile mechanism and displays all the rigidity, strength, and leverage required in the job of a crane. In contrast, it is extremely elastic and flexible. The vertebral column exhibits more varied functions than any other unit of the human body.
In order for your body to perform at it's optimal level, healthy alignment of the spine is absolutely essential. The sad thing though is that most of us are more concerned with the alignment of our teeth than the alignment of our spinal bones.
In this 3 part series we'll look at the 3 different sections of the spine and why each section is important. We'll start with the cervical spine or the neck.
The cervical spine (our neck) consists of 7 vertebrae -- the same in all mammals — from the tiny mouse to the long- necked giraffe. The cervical bones - the vertebrae - are smaller in size when compared to other spinal vertebrae.
The purpose of the cervical spine is to contain and protect the spinal cord, support the skull, and enable diverse head movement (e.g., rotate side to side, bend forward and backward).
Between each vertebra (with the exception of the space between C1 &C2) are springy discs of tough cartilage with a jellylike core that compress when under pressure to absorb shock. These discs are subjected to tremendous forces.
When viewed from the side, there should be a normal curve measuring between 34-43 degrees. From front to back, the spine should be straight.
If we lose this normal alignment, it leads to things like pain, tightness and numbness. More importantly, it places our body in a state of constant physical stress that can eventually cause things like chronic poor posture, premature compression, disc compression, nerve irritation, and early arthritis in the neck.
As chiropractors focused on structural correction, we place emphasis on not only getting you out of pain, but on keeping your spine as healthy and aligned as possible. This prevents a lot of conditions associated with aging from ever occurring in the first place!