The spine keeps us vertical, lifts our head, enables us to perform everyday activities. If you work at the computer for a long time with your head tilted, your neck hurts, your spine may be overloaded. This is why you feel dizzy, have a pains in your heart or your legs become numb.
I don't think there is a person who doesn't know how tiringback paincan be. In every third case, it appears several times a month, and every fourth struggles with it almost every day. More and more often teenagers and even children complain of neck or back pain.
But pain is not the only warning signal our spine sends us when it calls for help. Migraine and dizziness, decreased vision, tingling or numbness in the fingers or toes, stomach, heart or kidney pain - all these may indicate that there is something wrong with your spine.
The most common ailments caused by overloading the spine
The list of ailments caused by back problems is very long. In addition, they are not always legible to us. Let's see what may be wrong with us.
They are often pains in the neck, nape, back or pain in another part of the body distant from the spine for a long time. They appear only in certain situations, e.g. when we work in the garden for a long time with our head bowed, while sitting at the computer or standing by the ironing board. They are usually associated with excessive tension in certain muscle groups. Sometimes the pain is accompanied by additional symptoms, such as numbness in the hands or skin hyperesthesia on the back or head. Other times, nothing hurts us, but for example, dark spots appear in front of our eyes from time to time or we feel dizzy for no apparent reason. The type and severity of symptoms depend on which part of the spine is overloaded.
Overloaded cervical spine - symptoms: dizziness
Not only that the head rests and moves on delicate vertebrae, which quickly leads to degeneration, in addition, this section of the spine is often incorrectly loaded or overloaded due to, for example, bending the head over a book or sleeping in a wrong position. Therefore, it can send the first warning signals at an early age. It usually starts with innocent painneck, shoulders or neck, caused by excessive muscle tension due to stress or fatigue.
Many people complain of a migraine-like headache that covers the nape of the neck and radiates to the forehead. It may be accompanied by nausea, photophobia, vomiting or scotoma. It occurs mainly in the morning and in certain positions and with certain head movements (such as a forward bend or a sudden sideways turn). Eye pain, deterioration in vision, hearing or taste, tinnitus and ringing in the ears, dizziness, difficulty swallowing, numbness in the neck and tingling in the fingers, even a momentary loss of consciousness - may be signs of back problems. The ailments are the result of irritation of the nerve roots in the intervertebral openings, as well as disturbed blood supply due to pressure on the vertebral arteries (sometimes the artery is even closed).
Overloaded thoracic spine - symptoms: heart pain
Many signals indicate internal diseases. The pain may be in the area of the breastbone. It also often appears between the shoulder blades and radiates in a semicircle around the chest through the intercostal nerves (we have the impression that our ribs hurt). It is symmetrical or occurs on one side of the body. When it hurts on the left, we think it's the heart, while on the right, it's the liver. The "heartache" increases when you inhale. May be accompanied by shortness of breath, bronchospasm (similar to asthma), circulatory disturbance with high or too low blood pressure. Such pains happen to professionally active 35-45-year-olds, who are exhausted and live under constant stress. They can deceive even an experienced doctor. Then the patients end up in the hospital with suspicion of coronary heart disease or even a heart attack.
Overloaded lumbar spine - symptoms: leg numbness
He is heavily loaded next to the nape of his neck. Although the lumbar vertebrae are strong, this does not protect against ailments. Therefore, as many as 2/3 of all spine diseases concern this section. They are manifested by chronic or acute pain in the area of the lower back or waist. The pain may spread to one or both legs, or to one or both buttocks. Sometimes it feels like a stomach ache or a kidney. It is often confusingly reminiscent of the pain accompanying menstruation or gynecological problems. Often, the only sign that something is happening to your spine is tingling and numbness in one or both of your legs. All these types of ailments appear as a result of overload and / or degenerative changes.
ImportantLoad on the spine
A constant pressure is exerted on the vertebrae. In a person who weighs approx. 70 kg, even when lying on his back, it amounts to approx. 25 kg, and when lying on his side, it increases to 75 kg. When we stand upright, it increases to 100 kg, awhen we bend down or sit upright - up to 140 kg. The pressure when sitting in an inclined position can be up to 175 kg.
Strong muscles mean a stable spine
The spine can be compared to a mast, which is firmly attached to the ground (pelvis) through a system of tight ropes (muscles). If the cable system is in balance then the mast will stay vertical. In order for it to perform its function well, all ligaments and muscles attached to it must be strong and efficient. For example, the back muscles allow you to maintain an upright body posture and perform some body movements, including bending to the side, and abdominals to bend forward.
If the muscles on both sides of the spine do not work equally, they are weakened, over-stretched or tense, the spine becomes unstable, posture deteriorates, vertebrae and discs wear out faster.
The proper functioning of the spine is also possible thanks to natural bends that balance each other and make it flexible and act like a spring. Thanks to the curvature, the muscles and ligaments are able to alleviate the forces of gravity and shocks caused by walking and performing everyday activities.
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