What Is a Curved Spine?

Spinal curvature is an examination of the curvature of the human spine and is used to diagnose the presence of lesions in the spine.

Name: Spine curvature

category: Other as

Normal spinal curvature

The normal human spine has four forward and backward curvatures, that is, the cervical spine is slightly convex forward, the thoracic spine is slightly convex, the lumbar spine is significantly convex forward, and the sacrum is significantly convex, similar to the "S" shape.

Clinical significance of spinal curvature

When the patient is standing, look carefully for deformities. There are usually three basic deformities: Kyphosis refers to excessive spinal curvature, also known as hunchback. Occurs in the thoracic spine. (1) Children with kyphosis are mostly caused by rickets, which is characterized by a markedly uniform chest curve backwards in the sitting position, and the curvature can disappear when the supine position is present. (2) Spinal tuberculosis mostly occurs in adolescence, and the lesions are often in the lower thoracic spine. In the early stage, only the local spinous process was slightly raised, such as a button-like shape; later, it gradually became larger and raised, forming an angular deformity, such as a "hump" -like rise. In order to reduce the tenderness to the affected vertebra in the sitting position, the torso is often supported with both hands; in the walking or standing position, the posture of tilting the head up and the back of the trunk as much as possible is also used. (3) Uniform kyphotic deformity of thoracolumbar in adolescents may be the result of poor posture during development or suffering from spinal osteochondritis. (4) The arcuate (or arcuate) kyphosis of the thoracic segment of adults is seen in rheumatoid spondylitis, often with spinal rigidity, and the spine cannot be flattened when supine. (5) The kyphosis of the elderly occurs mostly in the upper half of the chest. The trunk is leaned forward, the head is extended, and the shoulder is moved forward. It is caused by bone degeneration and the thoracic vertebra is compressed. (6) Scoliosis caused by spinal fractures caused by trauma can occur in any age group. People to check: those with abnormal standing postures, those with humpbacks.

Spine curvature considerations

Inappropriate: pregnant women. Contraindications before examination: No special contraindications. Requirement during the examination: Obey the doctor's instructions for the examination. Actively cooperate.

Spinal curvature check process

The examiner swipes his finger along the spinous process tip of the spine with appropriate pressure from top to bottom. After the swiping, a red congestion line appears on the skin. Use this line as a standard to observe whether the spine is curved.