Iterations, round twelve
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Iterations 05/16/2007: Get a backbone
...preferably one that works properly. In (aherm) honor of my back being screwed up, here are several facts about the human backbone.
And sit up straight. You'll hurt yourself slouching like that.
- The human spine has 33 vertebrae, separated into five areas: cervical (neck, 7 vertebrae); thoracic (upper back, 12 vertebrae); lumbar (lower back, 5 vertebrae); sacral (between pelvic bones, 5 fused vertebrae); and coccyx (essentially the tailbone, 7 fused vertebrae).
- In the first three areas of the spine, the vertebrae are separated by discs of slightly flexible, cartilagenous tissue. These act as shock absorbers.
- The absolute worst position for the human spine? Sitting upright for extended periods of time. (Especially when your back is injured. Oh, boy, I can vouch for that one...)
- The vertebrae are hollow, and serve as a protective tube for the core of the nervous system.
- Most back injuries do not happen suddenly, but are the result of accumulated stress, strain, and wear. So if you fall and wrench your back slightly...if you're in a car accident but don't feel any pain...if you trip and fall but just have a bruise...don't assume that you won't need to be careful with, and rehabilitate, your back.
- Keeping your weight down, and keeping your abdominal muscles strong, helps reduce the strain on your lower back. Since the lower back (lumbar region) carries the most load in terms of flex and carrying ability, give it all the help you can by keeping the love handles minimal (or nonexistent) and doing crunches. You don't need a sixpack; you just need to exercise those muscles so that they can carry some of the load.
- Not all back injuries require surgery or intense physical therapy. Proper exercise, stretching, and chiropractic adjustments can help keep your spinal system properly stacked up.
- When you injure your back, ice may be a better solution than a heating pad. Ice numbs the area, and removing the ice pack after 20 minutes allows blood to come rushing back, speeding healing. Heat encourages fluids to accumulate to cool down the tissues. This swells the area — and when the heat is removed, the pain returns same as before.
- When you injure your back severely, the other muscles in your body will all tense to compensate. You may develop a tilt to one side or the other until your injury is sufficiently healed.
- If your lower back is sore, lie on a flat, firm surface with your knees slightly bent. This straightens your lower back, stretching it slightly and relieving some of the pressure.
- AdvilPM LiquiGels are an absolute godsend. Without them, I'd be lucky to get two hours' uninterrupted sleep each night (I'd constantly wake up in mild discomfort.) And without sleep, healing is drastically slowed.
While lying in bed, I'm attended by my cats. Monkey sneers at my dysfunction by sleeping right up by my head, curled up in a way that I haven't been able to do for a week. (The meany.)
Apologies for any sympathy pains I may have caused. Now go lay down on an icepack. (And now, I'm off to heed my own advice. Ow...)
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Keywords: | Wednesday | memes | health |
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