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Health Conditions
Overview of the Spine
Anatomy and Function
Understanding the fundamental anatomy and function of the spine is key to understanding injuries and diseases of the spine. The spine has several special roles in the human body:
- Protects the spinal cord
- Provides the support needed to walk upright
- Enables the torso to bend
- Supports the head
Sections of the Spine
Cervical - commonly referred to as the neck. There are seven cervical vertebrae (doughnut-shaped bones) that connect the skull to the rest of the spine.
Thoracic - The spine's thoracic section begins at the shoulders and extends down to the end of the rib cage. There are 12 vertebrae in the upper back, with shock-absorbing discs between them. Scoliosis commonly affects the thoracic section of the spine.
Lumbar - The lumbar section, or low back, has five vertebrae. These vertebrae, separated by discs, are the largest in the spine. Degeneration most often occurs in the lumbar section, usually at the lower discs. In addition, the facet joints can become arthritic, causing pain.
Sacrum - Five vertebrae join together to form the sacrum, a wedge-shaped part of the spine that forms part of the pelvis. The sacrum joins the rest of the pelvic bone at the sacroiliac joint, which can become inflamed causing sacroiliitis.
Coccyx - often referred to as the tailbone, consists of four vertebrae.
Vertebrae - The spine has 33 doughnut-shaped bones called vertebrae. Each vertebra is assigned a letter and a number that identifies its location in the spine. When someone has osteoporosis, minor trauma can cause these bones to fracture.
Discs - Between each pair of vertebrae is a disc made of spongy cartilage. Intervertebral discs act as shock-absorbing cushions between the vertebrae. When the disc degenerates, it can be pushed posteriorly, causing disc herniation.
Bulging or Herniated Disc(s)
The spine is made up of a series of connected bones called "vertebrae". The disc is a combination of strong connective tissues which hold one vertebra to the next, and acts as a cushion between the vertebrae. The disc is made of a tough outer layer called the "annulus fibrosus" and a gel-like center called the "nucleus pulposus." As you get older, the center of the disc may start to lose water content, making the disc less effective as a cushion. This may cause a displacement of the disc’s center (called a herniated or ruptured disc) through a crack in the outer layer. This may also be caused by collision or compression accidents suffered in car accidents and sports injuries. Most disc herniations occur in the bottom two discs of the lumbar spine, at and just below the waist.
A herniated lumbar disc can press on the nerves in the spine and may cause pain, numbness, tingling or weakness of the leg called "sciatica". Sciatica affects about 1-2% of all people, usually between the ages of 30 and 50.
A herniated lumbar disc may also cause back pain, although back pain alone (without leg pain) can have many causes other than a herniated disc.
Scoliosis
All spines have curves. Some curvature in the neck, upper trunk and lower trunk is normal. Humans need these spinal curves to help the upper body maintain proper balance and alignment over the pelvis. However, when there are abnormal side-to-side (lateral) curves in the spinal column, this is referred to as scoliosis.
Large abnormal side-to-side curves in the spinal column can put pressure on internal organs and can accelerate painful spinal conditions such as degenerative disc disease. Chiropractic adjustments have been found very effective in treating scoliosis in adolescents.
Degeneration of the disc tissue makes the disc more susceptible to herniation. Degeneration of the disc can cause local pain in the affected area. Any level of the spine can be affected by disc degeneration. When disc degeneration affects the spine of the neck, it is referred to as cervical disc disease. When the mid-back is affected, the condition is referred to as thoracic disc disease. Disc degeneration that affects the lumbar spine is referred to as lumbago. Lumbago causes pain localized to the low back and is common in older persons.
Carpal Tunnel
What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
For some, it is simply a poorly understood wrist injury that can prevent one from working, or a wrist injury that makes using one’s hands very painful.
Carpal: Across the back of the wrist, eight small irregular bones (called carpals), form a letter “C.” Closing the circle on the innerside of the wrist is a tough ligament. This is what creates the carpal tunnel.
Tunnel: An opening through which something passes. Nine tendons, which transmit forces from the forearm to the fingers, pass through this narrow tunnel along with the soft median nerve. This tunnel is about the size of your pinky.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a condition in which the median nerve becomes irritated and swells. As the nerve swells, it causes pressure in the tunnel. This increased pressure then further irritates the median nerve. This causes more swelling. The condition worsens.
What are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms?
Typical symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include paresthesias (abnormal sensations) such as tingling and numbness in the thumb and index and middle fingers on the palm side night pain, weakness in grasping, thumb and index finger pinching, and other thumb movements clumsiness, such as awkward hand movements and dropping things.
Studies have shown chiropractic care to be one of the most effective treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Headaches
One of the most common causes of headaches that do not originate in the head is called a "cervicogenic" headache. The cervicogenic headaches is a big word for a headache which has its origin in the area of the neck. The source of pain is found in structures around the neck which have been damaged. These structures can include joints, ligaments, muscles, and cervical discs, all of which have complex nerve endings. When these structures are damaged, the nerve endings send pain signals up the pathway from the upper nerves of the neck to the brain. During this process, they intermingle with the nerve fibers of the trigeminal nerve. Since the trigeminal nerve is responsible for perception of head pain, the patient therefore experiences the symptoms of a headache.
A chiropractor may be able to treat your headache if you answer "yes" to any of the following questions:
- Has your neck ever experienced trauma?
- Have you ever been in a car accident?
- Have you ever played football or any other contact sport?
- Have you experienced many 'minor' injuries?
- Is your neck stiff or, at times, difficult to move?
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