THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN

There are 5 sections in the vertebral:
1. Cervical (neck area): top 7 vertebrae commonly referred to as C1-C7, which helps provide passage for the vertebral artery.
2. Thoracic (upper back section): consists of 12 vertebrae know as T1-T12, which provide flexion capabilities.
3. Lumbar (lower back section): made up of 5 vertebrae, L1-L5; these vertebrae provide more extension capabilities.
4. Sacrum: 5 fused bones located below the lumbar vertebrae; at birth these bones are not fused, and remain separated until about age 20.
5. Coccyx: 3 to 5 fused bones found beneath the sacrum; this is essentially the tail bone.

Every spine should have two types of normal curves, which are:
*Lordotic Curve: located in the cervical and lumbar area. This is an inward curve toward the body.
* Kyphotic Curve: found in the thoracic area (also the sacrum and coccyx could be included). This is simply an outward curve away from the body.

Be careful of abnormal curves! They include:
*Lordosis: an exaggerated lumbar curve or an exaggerated inward curve. This can cause the butt to poke out; many people call this protusion a duck butt!
*Kyphosis: an exaggerated curve of the thoracic area. This causes people to hunch over (seen in patients with osteoporosis). Quite frankly their is nothing to be done to correct this.
*Scoliosis: this is a sideways curve in the shape of an "S" or a "C". This causes one's shoulder or hip to be higher than the other.

So,  Lesson for the day? Be sure to check your posture! We do not want any abnormal spinal curves!