autostretching0144

The spine - how it’s madę and how it works

The spine is madę up of short pieces of bonę called vertebrae. The movements ofthe vertebrae are much smaller ihan those ofthe other joints in your body -sometimes they can hardly be detected at all. But they have a lot of influence on movements in other parts, as everyone knows that ever suffered from lumbago. Be the movements everso smali, they still play a very important part in the way your back works.

Stretching the muscles that eontrol the spine is just as necessary as any other stretching, but il must be done witli great care. Doing it wrong can be much morę dangerous around the spine than elsewhere, sińce these muscles are so close to vital and vulner-

The spine is divided into four parts (Fig 1): able tissues like the spinał cord, nerves and dises. ~: avoid injury, all stretching exercises must ne performed with the utmost care and caution. Der i start stretching your neck and back right away. Le^ • e those exercises until you’re quite surę you have leam to do the arm and leg stretches right.

The spine is the most complicated structure in \ ;*ir entire skeleton. It keeps your body upright, but e^-. rr though ’good posturę’ is often described as a 'straigr back’, the spine is neither straight nor stiff.

The spine should carry your head, support yc*ir body and protect the spinał cord with all its sensitnel contents. At the same time il should let you me-*; freely.

1.    The cervical spine, 7 vertebrae (the neck, to you).

2.    The thoracic spine, 12 vertebrae and the ribs (from your shoulders to just above your waist).

3.    The lumbar spine. 5 vertebrae (your waist level and bclow).

4.    The sacrum and coccyx (the vcry end, down in the pelvis).

Fig 1.

Sacrum

Coccyx

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