A Vertebra
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Last month we talked about what makes up your back. And came to the realization that your back is your spine, and your spine is made up of a bunch of individual bones stacked one atop another. These bones are called vertebrae (plural), and vertebra (singular). This month, we’d like to take a closer look at an individual vertebra.
Let’s look at a vertebra from above…from a bird’s eye view. The image above (right) shows just that. What comes to mind when you see this picture? Talk about a odd-looking bone! The “body” of the bone is what bears most of the weight (ie, the vertebra above sits on the body of the vertebra below). In between bodies of vertebrae are the “discs” you may have heard of (as in, I have a bulging disc). The discs are part shock absorber, part connective tissue, and part mobility-facilitators. The “spinous process” that juts out the back of the vertebra is the bony prominence you can see/feel on a person along their spine. Some clients have very prominent spinous processes, whereas other clients have barely-noticeable spinous processes as they are hiding in a valley of muscle running alongside the spine. The “transverse processes” are, for the most part, not visible or palpable. The transverse processes, on either side of the vertebra, can be thought of as the beginning of each rib (ie, one rib on the left and one rib on the right). The ribs actually attach to the vertebra by way of the transverse processes, and then travel around to the front of the body, to join the sternum (ie, breastbone). And the “vertebral foramen” is the canal through which the spinal cord travels/resides. Notice how protected the cord is, with the bony architecture surrounding it.
Now let’s look at the same vertebra from the side, in this case, from the right side (see image above on the left). You see the body…the height of the body plays a significant role in determining the height of an individual. What’s new in this view is the “intervertebral foramen”, found between the body and the spinous process. This hole (that’s what a “foramen” is, a hole) is where the spinal nerves exit the spinal column and proceed to travel to their target destinations (ie, the arms, the fingers, the ribs, the legs, etc). This is also the site where a “bulging disc” actually bulges. And if significant enough, might compress on the nerve exiting the spinal column. Which can cause a lot of pain and dysfunction.
When examining bones in general, the pokey bits often act as points where muscles begin or end, called “attachment points”. In the case of the vertebra, the spinous and transverse processes are attachment points for numerous back and neck muscles. Holes in bones (ie, “foramen”) often have something passing through them. And in the vertebra’s case, as we’ve already seen, both the spinal cord and spinal nerves pass through the foramen of the vertebra.
How does any of this affect you and your ability to move? It doesn’t, if things are working well! With all these moving parts, though (ie, 24 individual vertebrae, the discs between each pair of vertebrae, the ligaments that attach one vertebra to the next, the muscles attaching to the vertebrae, etc) it’s quite common for a part or few to fall “out of line”. To be twisted ‘this way’ when everything else is twisting ‘that way’. Or an odd vertebra is bending to the left when it ought to be bending to the right. This is when one might complain of pain or reduced ability to move or both. In the massage room, we attempt to keep the muscles that attach to the spine as supple and relaxed as possible. A task easier said than done.
Let’s look at a vertebra from above…from a bird’s eye view. The image above (right) shows just that. What comes to mind when you see this picture? Talk about a odd-looking bone! The “body” of the bone is what bears most of the weight (ie, the vertebra above sits on the body of the vertebra below). In between bodies of vertebrae are the “discs” you may have heard of (as in, I have a bulging disc). The discs are part shock absorber, part connective tissue, and part mobility-facilitators. The “spinous process” that juts out the back of the vertebra is the bony prominence you can see/feel on a person along their spine. Some clients have very prominent spinous processes, whereas other clients have barely-noticeable spinous processes as they are hiding in a valley of muscle running alongside the spine. The “transverse processes” are, for the most part, not visible or palpable. The transverse processes, on either side of the vertebra, can be thought of as the beginning of each rib (ie, one rib on the left and one rib on the right). The ribs actually attach to the vertebra by way of the transverse processes, and then travel around to the front of the body, to join the sternum (ie, breastbone). And the “vertebral foramen” is the canal through which the spinal cord travels/resides. Notice how protected the cord is, with the bony architecture surrounding it.
Now let’s look at the same vertebra from the side, in this case, from the right side (see image above on the left). You see the body…the height of the body plays a significant role in determining the height of an individual. What’s new in this view is the “intervertebral foramen”, found between the body and the spinous process. This hole (that’s what a “foramen” is, a hole) is where the spinal nerves exit the spinal column and proceed to travel to their target destinations (ie, the arms, the fingers, the ribs, the legs, etc). This is also the site where a “bulging disc” actually bulges. And if significant enough, might compress on the nerve exiting the spinal column. Which can cause a lot of pain and dysfunction.
When examining bones in general, the pokey bits often act as points where muscles begin or end, called “attachment points”. In the case of the vertebra, the spinous and transverse processes are attachment points for numerous back and neck muscles. Holes in bones (ie, “foramen”) often have something passing through them. And in the vertebra’s case, as we’ve already seen, both the spinal cord and spinal nerves pass through the foramen of the vertebra.
How does any of this affect you and your ability to move? It doesn’t, if things are working well! With all these moving parts, though (ie, 24 individual vertebrae, the discs between each pair of vertebrae, the ligaments that attach one vertebra to the next, the muscles attaching to the vertebrae, etc) it’s quite common for a part or few to fall “out of line”. To be twisted ‘this way’ when everything else is twisting ‘that way’. Or an odd vertebra is bending to the left when it ought to be bending to the right. This is when one might complain of pain or reduced ability to move or both. In the massage room, we attempt to keep the muscles that attach to the spine as supple and relaxed as possible. A task easier said than done.