Spine construction
Human spine construction - overview
The human spine can be divided into five sections as shown here. We can discount the bottom two sections as far as manual handling is concerned
The main twenty four vertebrae are illustrated above. (Cervical, Thoracic and Lumbar). Each one is separated by a disc and it's these discs which allow us to bend and twist in all sorts of directions.
People say "keep your back straight" but that's impossible to do as the spine is, in fact, a double "S" shaped object. It's these bends that help us to take shocks to the spine as, along with the discs, they allow for a certain amount of deflection.
The vertebra are named as follows:
- Top seven bones in the neck are the cervical vertebrae
- The twelve middle bones around the chest are known as the thoracic vertebra
- The bottom five bones are called the lumbar vertebrae
It's usually the lumbar vertebrae that cause trouble and where the pain is likely to be in a manual handling injury.
For reference the bottom vertebrae are called the sacrum and coccyx and as mentioned above, are are fused together.
The human spine can be divided into five sections as shown here. We can discount the bottom two sections as far as manual handling is concerned
The main twenty four vertebrae are illustrated above. (Cervical, Thoracic and Lumbar). Each one is separated by a disc and it's these discs which allow us to bend and twist in all sorts of directions.
People say "keep your back straight" but that's impossible to do as the spine is, in fact, a double "S" shaped object. It's these bends that help us to take shocks to the spine as, along with the discs, they allow for a certain amount of deflection.
The vertebra are named as follows:
- Top seven bones in the neck are the cervical vertebrae
- The twelve middle bones around the chest are known as the thoracic vertebra
- The bottom five bones are called the lumbar vertebrae
It's usually the lumbar vertebrae that cause trouble and where the pain is likely to be in a manual handling injury.
For reference the bottom vertebrae are called the sacrum and coccyx and as mentioned above, are are fused together.
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