The lumbar spine has the largest set of vertebrae and bears the most weight. Its function is to stabilize your spine and hips to prevent joint diseases and injury when you move and exercise. Although stretching your lumbar spine can improve its...
Your lumbar vertebrae is the third section of your spinal vertebrae, located in the lower back. While the lumbar vertebrae are some of the largest vertebra, they are subject to great pressure. Whether due to injury or degeneration over time,...
The fifth lumbar vertebra, also known as the L5 vertebra, can be a source of tremendous pain and discomfort. The L4-L5 disc, located between your fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae, and the L5-S1 disc, between the fifth lumbar and first sacral...
The sciatic nerve begins in the lower back and extends to the soles of the feet. When the nerve become pinched or injured, it can cause severe pain in the back as well as the legs and feet. While the cause of trauma to the nerve is often unknown,...
Your lumbar vetebrae are located at the base of your spinal column and are designed to support your upper body weight. The discs in between your lumbar vertebrae act as shock absorbers and help reduce some of the impact that is transmitted down...
Lumbar disks, plates of cartilage that cushion the movements of the vertebrae of the spine, can rupture and herniate, putting pressure on nerves. The common symptoms of a herniated disk in the lumbar spine vary depending on which vertebrae and...
Body weight exercises can be used to build muscle effectively. Good old sit-ups and push-ups, for example, will help you build strong muscle. These exercises also can be modified to further increase the amount of mass you are able to add to your...
According to the American Chiropractic Association, 95 percent of the Americans experience a sudden sharp muscle pain known as a spasm sometime in their life. Muscle spasms are involuntary contraction of the muscles, and can involve all of the...
Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure which aims to bring together two or more spinal vertebrae so that in time they fuse into one solid, bony unit. Generally, the intervertebral disk is removed and replaced with grafted bone or bone substitutes....
Therapeutic massage can help in the relief of back pain. There are different techniques that may be used, depending on the specific problem and area of pain. The effects of massage can include increased blood flow, decreased muscle spasm, and an...
A laminectomy is a spinal operation that involves removing the portion of vertebral bone called the lamina. This surgery is usually performed as a result of a break in the spine or as a result of stenosis, which is an abnormal narrowing of the...
The lower back is made up of vertebrae, small bones stacked one after the other, attached to the complete spinal column. Cushions called disks help "cushion" jolts your lower back suffers. Disks offer the freedom your spine needs for movement in...
Five small bones at the very bottom of your spine may become painful after prolonged exercise on a stationary bicycle. Your coccyx, or tailbone, is not always in a comfortable position on a small seat of an exercise bike. Doctors do not have a way...
The lower back muscles support upper body weight, protect body tissues and stabilize the spine. Since this area bears much of your weight and stress, it is the most likely part of the back to become injured. By understanding what these muscles do,...
A burst fracture is a fracture of the vertebrae that can result in compromise to the spinal cord due to traumatic compression of the spine. The fracture can involve a "retropulsion" of bone into the spinal canal, leading to neurologic deficits...
Your lumbar and sacral vertebrae are part of your lower back region. You have five lumbar vertebrae and five sacral vertebrae, the latter of which are fused together to form the sacrum. The two areas meet at the L5 and S1 vertebrae. This part of...
Fractures of the lumbar spine, five vertebrae found at the lower end of the back, can have serious long-term consequences. The vertebrae surround and protect the spinal cord, so damage to the vertebrae can also damage the spinal cord. Fractures of...
Degenerative disc disease in the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae can be a painful condition. Scientists do not know the cause of this disease, but its result is that the intervertebral disc becomes mechanically unstable. This causes it to herniate...
The bones of the human body allow us to move from place to place and provide protection to other organs. Some bones also produce blood cells. According to scientists at Minnesota State University, our bones produce over two million red blood cells...
The bones of the lumbar spine and sacrum are identified by either an "L" or "S". The subsequent number refers to the specific bone in either the lumbar or sacral region. Hence, L5 refers to the fifth lumbar vertebrae and S1...
In order to categorize the spinal nerves, anatomists divide the vertebral column into four distinct areas, referred to as the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions of the spine. Dr. Ralph Rashburn of Spine-Health states that 31 pairs of...
Lower back pain on the right side can be caused by numerous factors. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or NINDS--a division of the National Institutes of Health--a person's back is comprised of an...
Numerous conditions can cause lower right-side back pain. According to MedlinePlus from the National Institutes of Health, back pain affects about 80 percent of people at some point in their lives. Structures in the lower right side of the back...
The lumbar region of the spine is composed of five small vertebrae, or bones, that run vertically along the lower back. Lumbar spondylosis is a degenerative spine condition that is also referred to as spinal osteoarthritis. People over the age of...
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, low back pain affects nearly all Americans during some point in there lives, and is a leading cause in work-related disability. The lower part of the back is comprised of...
The spine is made up of 26 vertebral bones. Filling the space between the bones is a soft jelly-like matter called a disc. The disc material cushions the bones and helps keep the spine aligned. A herniated disc is the medical term when the disc...
The skeletal system is composed of typically 206 bones in the adult human body. Bones serve a variety of functions, such as giving the body shape, assisting in movement, producing blood component cells from the bone marrow and even storing...
The cervical, thoracic and lower lumbar regions of the body function as an interdependent system. Pain or injury in one part of the spine may cause a referred injury or pain in another. When treating neck, upper back or lower lumbar pain with...
The spine consists of the spinal cord (which carries nerves from the brain throughout the body) and bones called vertebrae which surround the spinal cord and protect it. In between the vertebrae are structures called discs, which support and...
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