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Disclaimer

The legislative information contained on this web site is my interpretation of the law based on many years in the health and safety business. A definitive interpretation can only be given by the courts. I will therefore not be held responsible for any accident/incident/prosecution arising as a consequence of anyone using any information obtained from this web site.

human spine construction-overview

spine constructionThe human spine can be divided into five sections although only three are shown here.

The main twenty four vertebrae are illustrated here. 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:

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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