CURVES

Back in grade school, they used to line us up and have a nurse check us for scoliosis. At least we were told she was a nurse, but she looked an awful lot like the lunch lady. We were told that curves in our spine were bad, and the sideway ones can be. I talk to quite a few patients who don’t know that some spinal curves are good and important to good health.

Your neck should have a forward curve. That helps carry the weight of our head and is part of mobility. The joints in our spine are designed for the curve, so it will hurt if we lose it. That curve can be compromised by trauma, like whiplash, or through behaviors, like reading your phone. When our neck straightens out you can experience headaches, dizziness, and even pinching in the shoulders. No wonder it’s so important to have a healthy cervical spine!

The upper back, or thoracic region, should have a curve that goes backward. Usually, this curve becomes exaggerated instead of flattened. That increased curve can mess up the cervical curve, affect the rib cage, and shoulder mobility. Numb hands, sharp pains in the shoulders, along with some cervical symptoms like headaches and dizziness. If left uncorrected, you can end up with that big hump that you see in cartoons.

The lumbar curve goes forward. Often, it gets flattened and puts pressure on the lumbar discs. This is a common cause of sciatica. It can also get exaggerated and create a “sway back” that can cause low back pain and limited mobility. The low back can have issues because of not enough activity, or too many bad activities. The lumbar back benefits greatly from strong leg, glute, and core muscles. 

Proper curve alignment is crucial to a healthy spine and life. That is why chiropractic care is so effective and alleviates so many common pains and problems that people experience. Correcting the curves, and allowing the body to heal and do its thing, is crucial to living a full and active life!