Fascinating spine facts

Isn’t it a funny thing, we all have one and it’s used in everything we do, but until it actually starts to go wrong, or cause us pain, we hardly ever think about our spine! Looking after your spine is really important and can help you to be the best you can be – that’s where chiropractic care can help.

The team at Willow Chiropractic thought they’d share some fun things about your spine that you may not know:

• If your spine didn’t have curves it wouldn’t be nearly as strong as it is. The curves help to spread the load of physical activity. It’s all about Physics!
• The spine has an incredibly important role apart from keeping us upright – it is the casing and protection for the spinal cord and nerves. Without these the whole body would stop working
• About 10% of the population has a 6th Lumbar vertebra – an extra bone at the bottom of their back – lucky them! This is just one of nature’s quirks and completely normal.
• As we age, the space between our spinal discs gets smaller- this is one of the reasons some people shrink in height as they get older!
• If it wasn’t for your spine you wouldn’t be able to walk, bend, dance or drive a car!
• The tailbone, known as the Coccyx, gets its name originally from resembling the beak of a cuckoo bird.
• Humans are born with 33 spinal bones but end up with 26 bones as an adult- This is because baby bones aren’t yet hard and some fuse together as we get older.
• The number one cause of sick days amongst UK workers is due to back pain!

Hope you found this useful and interesting. We look forward to seeing you in one of our clinics soon to make sure you’re the best you can be!