The human back is a large and compact organ. That notwithstanding, it can easily be injured If subjected to undue stress. Our elementary biology, teaches us that the human spine which is made up of 33 small bones, stacked upon each other with discs in between the bones acting as cushion or shock absorbers.
They form axial skeleton supporting the numerous internal organs and maintaining the back in a vertical position.
In actual sense the back is made up of two main parts; the spine and the back muscles. The back muscles are attached to the spine.
The spine is made up of 33 small bones as mentioned earlier called vertebrae. In the neck the bones are called Cervical vertebrae. The bones are seven (7) in number and are usually designated as follows; C1, C2, . . .C7. At the back of the chest, the bones of the spine are called Thoracic vertebrae. The bones are twelve and are designated T1, T2,.. .T12.
In the waist the bones of the spine are called Lumber vertebrae and are five (5) are designated L1, L2,. . .L5. Further down are the bones of the Sacrum, which is made up of five (5) bones, but are fixed together and are designated as follows; S1, S2,…S5.
Lastly is the bones of the coccyx (tail bones) they are four and are fused.
If an engineer were to determine which part of the back that was subjected to greatest mechanical stress, he or she would name the part of the spine just above the pelvis i.e lumbar spine (the waist). Because the lower the part of the spine, the more weight it supports.
The lower part of the spine is the common site of pain because it bears the majority of the weight of the body and the load the body carries. More over, this waist aspect of the spine provides you with both strength and mobility. And the strength, allows you to stand, walk and lift loads. The mobility allows movements such as turning and bending.
A lot of activities done by man involve the waist mostly. Take for instance; in the oil exploration industry whose work in the rigs, offshore involves repetitive use off their back, the waist particular. Again during conjugal exercise by couples, the frequent thrusting and wriggling invariably involves mostly the waist.
Mention activities done by man that doesn’t require prolong involvement of the waist or the waist bearing the brunt of the effect; is it sitting, standing, except lying.
The next to follow is the pain in the region of the neck (cervical) because of its high mobility. Unlike the thoracic region which is limited because of the ribs.
Below the lumbar spine are the sacrum and coccyx, whose bones or vertebrae don’t move (i.e. their bones are fixed together) and therefore can not be placed in the wrong position. But the lumbar spine do move (i.e. the lumbar bones are not fixed together) and therefore can be moved into wrong position which may result to sprain, strain or slipped disc, and will eventually give rise to painful experience.
With a reputable physiotherapist, dramatic relief of the pain is assured using physical modalities and posture correction. Be careful how you use your back so that it will last a life-time!