| What actually is our “back”? |
| Written by Administrator |
| Wednesday, 11 March 2009 03:16 |
|
First things first: let us just resemble what our “back” actually constitutes: It is somehow like very complicated and delicate machinery with four main components, each of which again is very complicated. The first component (and actually the most simple one) consists of the bones: the vertebral column, the pelvis, and the shoulder blades. The second component is made of cartilage: one the most refined things in our body. Harder than flesh, softer than bones, we find cartilage everywhere in our body where bones have to be buffered against friction. And most of the cartilage in our body is found between the vertebrae: between each segment is a buffer of cartilage, which in a healthy body allows for all kinds of smooth, painless motions. Any of these cartilages gets damaged - clack - bones hitting hard against each other. The third component is an overwhelming complicated net of nerves, sending signals back and forth between our brain and all other parts of the body. And most of these nerves run through the vertebral column. And the fourth of these components are muscles. They have two functions: one that is obvious to us, which is to give us and our movements power. The other one is not obvious, but just as important: to support the rest of the system, that is the bones, the cartilage and the nerves. Now add to that a number of ligaments and tendons, which help to hold it all together, and you have got a hell of a sophisticated system - our back, that is. |
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 12 March 2009 04:23 ) |