We left off yesterday talking about the low back (the lumbar spine) 'taking over' for the thoracic spine. What I mean by this, is that movement must occur in the spine to allow for the human body to ambulate.
Add to normal ambulation, the loads and demands of sport...and well, you get the picture...right?
Many athletes generate power through the rotation, or twisting of their spine. The golfer, the tennis player, quarterback, pitcher, bowler, track and field...must I go on?
In his book Low Back Disorders, Dr. Stuart McGill presents research regarding repetitive twisting of the spine, and it's effects on the vertebral discs. Dr. McGill states that repetitive twisting causes the annulus (ring-like portion of the disc) to slowly delaminate. Once this happens, the nucleus of the disc begins to migrate outward, placing pressure on nerve roots, and destroying the disc itself.
Armed with this knowledge, it is in our best interest to do whatever we can to keep our spine working properly...thereby reducing the effects of rotational torsion (twisting) on the vertebral bodies and discs.
So...back to the lumbar spine taking over for the thoracic spine.
The body is amazing...I've said it before, and I'll say it again. God did a superb job when he created us. He gave our bodies the ability to adapt to a plethora of both internal and external stimuli.
How many of you remember the movie Jurassic Park? In the movie, Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldlbum) is speaking to Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) about life...and the ability to adapt. It goes something like this...
“Because the history of evolution is that life escapes all barriers.
Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps
even dangerously. But life finds a way.”
The concept is relatively similar...the thoracic spine becomes dysfunctional...life still requires mobility...so the body adapts, and uses a different part of the spine to create movement.
Life will find a way.
Interestingly and in alignment with what Ian Malcolm states, this adaption...or as we call it in the world of human movement: compensation...occurs, it too can be painful, and it too can be dangerous.
"How so?" you ask.
When the lumbar spine takes over for the dysfunctional thoracic spine, it begins to move in a manner that it was not designed for. Over time, the compensatory movement creates stress on both the vertebral bodies and the discs. The body may opt to respond by engaging a protective mechanism called calcification.
Yeah, most of us have heard the term calcification...but how many of really know what it means. Quite simply...and I mean quite simply...the body begins to fuse the vertebrae of the lumbar spine together by way of calcifying the vertebrae together. This is a protective mechanism that serves to prevent the movement compensation from occurring, thereby preventing further damage to either the vertebral body and the all important, shock absorbing disc.
The picture below shows the onset of this protective process. The arrow points to an area of calcification that is serving to limit the amount of movement that occurs between the two vertebral bodies. I suspect that the disc between the two vertebrae has become damaged, and this is why the body has enlisted this protective mechanism.
Life will find a way.
In my next post I will provide valuable, evidence-based information about how you can regain much, if not all, of your lost Jurassic...I mean thoracic mobility.
Until next time,
Yours in Health and Performance,
John
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