If necessary, magnify it so that you can see when in proper alignment. The easiest way to get around this is to improve settings on your devices so you don’t have to pitch yourself forward to see.
![spine align center dr. conde spine align center dr. conde](https://www.markweightmd.com/wp-content/uploads/spine-alignment-768x538.jpg)
When in this situation, we’re typically so focused on what we’re doing that we fail to notice our posture. The jutting forward of the head is typically a result of trying to see the screen better. To prevent the forward head and the domino effect down the spine, make some adjustments to how you use technology. If we sit like this for extended periods of time day after day, we’re in for trouble. We round in the upper back, tuck our tailbone underneath us, and slump down, putting pressure on the lumbar spine and sacrum. For most of us, we tend to jut our head forward and the rest of our posture deteriorates from there. In particular, notice how you position yourself when on your computer or phone. Notice your alignment as you work, drive, walk, sit at the table, stand with a friend at a party. No matter how mild or severe the issue, it’s possible to take strides towards keeping the spine in proper alignment with specific lifestyle changes.ĭo an audit of your posture over the course of a few days. A loss of thoracic spine mobility, for example, is very common. Many of us may not have abnormalities severe enough to require a diagnosis, but we may suffer from a loss of mobility in areas of our spine. In a flat back, the spine has a flattened lumbar curve and possibly a flat thoracic curve as well. Kyphotic and lordotic curves of the spine often go hand in hand. This may be accompanied by a forward head, which creates a caving of the chest and a hunched back. Kyphosis describes an exaggerated thoracic curve. Think cow pose in cat-cow, or the cue of showing off your tail feathers. A lordotic curve of the spine refers to an exaggerated lumbar curve, causing the back to arch and the tailbone lift. That wasn’t a test for flexibility, it was an examination for scoliosis.Īside from scoliosis, there are many common cases in which the primary curves of the spine are distorted in some way. You might remember your doctor as a child asking you to bend forward and reach for your toes. There are a few scenarios leading to an abnormal curve of the spine, the most well-known being scoliosis. Unfortunately, due to lifestyle and genetics, our spines don’t always maintain their natural integrity. These curves of the spine act as shock absorbers and help align the rest of the body for optimal movement. Then you’ll feel your sacrum rest on the floor. This may create a small space or you may feel that your low back is not pressed into the floor as heavily as other areas. The lumbar curve of your spine will lift your lower back away from the floor slightly. You’ll feel your spine curve towards the floor again, pressing your shoulder blades and the middle of your back against it. In a healthy spine, you should feel the back of your skull pressing into the floor, then a space between the back of your neck and the floor. Close your eyes and do a quick scan of your body, noticing the areas where you feel your weight sinking into the floor. Bend your knees and put your feet flat on the ground. Lie on your back on a relatively hard surface (not something soft such as a bed). Note that this is an exercise for awareness, not to diagnose an abnormal curve of the spine. Try this quick test to check in with the natural curves of your spine. Once we reach adulthood, the sacral vertebrae fuse to form the sacrum (the broad bone in your lower back just opposite your hip bones), and the 4 vertebrae below fuse to form the coccyx, or tailbone.Ī healthy spine maintains all of these curves. Below the lumbar are 5 sacral vertebrae and 4 coccyx bones. This brings your pelvis underneath you so you’re not walking around with your booty sticking out. The lumbar vertebrae reverses the curve of your spine again, curving the same direction as the cervical spine. Next is the lumbar curve of the spine, consisting of 5 vertebrae and connecting to the pelvis. The thoracic vertebrae connect to the ribs and curve in the opposite direction of the cervical spine, allowing the heaviest part of your torso (the part containing your internal organs) to stay balanced over your center of gravity. This is C7, which stands for the 7th cervical vertebrae.īelow C7 are the 12 vertebrae that form the thoracic curve. If you nod forward and reach your hand to where your neck meets your back, you’ll likely feel one bone sticking out. These small but mighty bones form the cervical curve of the spine, allowing your head to align so your ears are at the top of your plumb line.
![spine align center dr. conde spine align center dr. conde](https://www.neuromicrospine.com/sites/default/files/robotic-spine-surgery.jpg)
The spine starts at the base of the skull with 7 cervical vertebrae, typically the smallest of all 33 in your body (which is ironic considering they support the most important organ in your body: your brain).