Long and thick muscles span much of the back and function like guide wires, protecting the spine from excessive and sudden movement.ĭeep and thinner muscles connect from the rib cage to the pelvis and hips. The spine is supported and controlled by several layers of muscles that perform different actions, yet work together in a harmonious fashion to support the spine, hold the body upright and allow the trunk to move, twist and bend. This can occur as a result of prolonged poor posture or a sudden, rapid movement (most often when we bend or rotate our body, the very positions assumed during a golf swing!). Discs can 'herniate' when excessive stress is placed on one area of the disc. Most of us have heard of a "herniated disc" and may even know someone with this painful problem. They have an outer ring of firm, spongy, malleable material and an inner core composed of a jelly-like substance. The discs have been likened to a jelly donut in terms of their configuration. Their main purpose is to provide shock absorption and allow mobility between the vertebrae. They are flat and round, and about half an inch thick. Structures called intervertebral discs are located between each vertebrae. Nerves branch out from the spinal cord through openings in the vertebrae and carry messages between the brain and the muscles. Roughly the thickness of a finger, it extends from the skull to the lower back, traveling through the middle part of each stacked vertebra, called the central canal. The spinal cord is a cylinder of nerve tissue. Good posture is important to maintain the health of our spine. When properly maintained, they give the spine full mobility and provide stability for the backbone and surrounding trunk. If you were looking at the spine from the side, you would see that it is curved like an elongated 'S'. The spine is not perfectly straight it has natural curves.
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