Back and Spine

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Back and Spine

Having been established in Gordon for over 30 years, Gordon Physiotherapy Sports and Spinal has a reputation for the best treatment of chronic back pain, low back pain and spine related injuries. We use the McKenzie approach, where understanding and self-care is essential for successful results.

Despite the enormous amount of information available, there is still a lot of confusion about back problems and many people are still doing the wrong things for their back. We believe that understanding the cause of back pain and knowing what measures to put in place to prevent back pain is far better than just treating the symptoms.

Common terminology of back pain.

  • Back pain
  • Lower Back pain
  • Muscle Strain or Muscle Spasms
  • Sciatica
  • Disk pain
  • Sciatica

What You Need to Know About Your Back:

The spine is the bony structure that provides the framework for the human body. The spine gives support and protection for muscles, tissues and organs.

The spine can also be called the:

  • back
  • back bone
  • vertebral column
  • spinal column

Anatomically we divide the spine into areas, which are called the:

  • cervical spine (or neck): this area is made up of 7 vertebrae, referred to as C1 to C7 in reports and X-rays.
  • thoracic spine (or chest, upper back, thorax): this area is made up of 12 vertebrae, referred to as T1 to T12 in reports and X-rays.
  • lumbar spine (or low back): this area is made up of 5 vertebrae, referred to as L1 to L5 in reports and X-rays.
  • saccral area (beneath the lumbar area): this area is made up of 5 fused vertebrae, referred to as S1 to S5 in reports and X-rays.
  • coccygeal area (or tail bone): this area is made up of 3 to 5 fused vertebrae, referred to in reports and X-rays as the coccyx.

The Anatomy of the Spine

Between each of the vertebrae (bones) are the discs, which are large cartilage-type structures. These discs are soft and they compress, giving the back its ability to bend in various directions. The discs also act as the shock absorbers for the spine.

A healthy normal spine has curves when looked at from the side. The cervical and lumbar spine have a forward curve or lordosis. The thoracic and saccral areas have backward curves or kyphosis.

The vertebrae protect the central spinal cord as well as the peripheral nerves that originate from the cord at each disc level. The spinal cord runs from the head to the pelvis.

When the normal curves of the spine are present, the spinal joints are packed tightly together, making each area stable and allowing the deep muscles to adequately support the spine.

Back Pain

At Gordon Physiotherapy Sports and Spinal we find that virtually everyone has experienced neck, upper or lower back pain at some stage. However, most people ignore the warning signs, which can prolong recovery and cause unnecessary damage to underlying tissues.

If you have back pain, seek a solution today before it intensifies and becomes more difficult and costly to fix.

“Contact Us” today to book your initial session for back pain and read our Back Pain article.