Whole Network Most Recent TOP10 Baby Gear Maternity Fashion Medical Issues Prenatal Tests

 

Women's Spines Are Made to Cope with Pregnancy

Filed in archive Medical Issues by ruth on December 13, 2007

Some aches and pains are normal during pregnancy, and probably the most common complaint you'd hear from pregnant women is backache. As pregnancy progresses, the weight of the baby pulls her center of gravity to the front and she tries to compensate by leaning backwards. That's why you see so many heavily pregnant women with an awkward posture, with an impossibly deep curve at the base of their spine. But did you know that women's spine have evolved and are different from men's precisely for this reason - to prevent injury due to an exaggerated spinal curve?

pregnant_silhoutte.jpg


Exaggerating the curve in the lower back can place more stress on the spine: vertebrae are more likely to slip against each other, leading to back pain or fractures. Whitcome and her colleagues found that a woman's spine has several features that help to prevent that damage. In women, the curve in the lower back spans three vertebrae; in men, it encompasses just two. The added vertebra helps distribute the strain over a wider area.

In addition, specialized joints located behind the spinal cord, called zygapophyseal joints, are 14% larger relative to vertebrae size in women than in men, suggesting that the joints are well adapted to resist the higher force. The joints are also oriented at a slightly different angle in women, allowing them to better brace the vertebrae against slipping.

Seems that Arnold Schwarzenegger's film Junior would be impossible in real life after all. Isn't it amazing how nature made it sure that women's bodies are made to withstand having a baby?

Photo Credit: ballison


Advertisement


Permalink: Women's Spines Are Made to Cope with Pregnancy
Tags: pregnancy  spine  science  evolution  women  made+cope  spines+made  women+spines 

Trackback: http://www.creative-weblogging.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.pl/106609



Advertisement


Advertisement


CW ToolbarInstall
RSSrss   | See all blog subscribe options
Googlegoogle   |   What is RSS?
Yahoo!yahoo
AddthisAddThis Feed Button
BloglinesBloglines
Newsletter
Advertisement - Book yours here.

Use our search feature to look for other interesting posts

Just this blog Whole network
Advertisement -
Book yours here..


 
  • Would you like to have a new interactive marketing channel for your company? Learn more about Sponsored Blogs with Creative Weblogging. See how we helped companies like Weblin and cellity reach their goals.
  • Would you like to reach millions of blog readers every day? See you banner on hundreds of blogs with TierOneAds? Stay in control measuring conversion in real time. Register now.
  • Would you like to make more money blogging? Use TierOneAds a new platform that allows you as a blogger to set your prices per impression. Register now.
  • Do you have a blog with more than 50k page views from the US? Let us market your blog and earn great fix payments and bonuses.
  • Would you like to see your text link here? Let us know!
Advertisement
Book yours here.



  • Other blogs in the same channel in the Creative Weblogging Network

Advertisement -
Book yours here..






Advertisement - Book yours here..
 
Tagcloud: Baby Gear Childbirth Family Life First Trimester Infanticipating Dads IVF and Assisted Pregnancies Maternity Fashion Medical Issues Miscarriage/Stillbirth Multiple Pregnancy NNM Blog Housekeeping Online Resources Other Pregnancy Issues Post-Natal Issues Pre-Conception Pregnacy and Careers Pregnancy and Nutrition Pregnancy Fitness Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms Pregnancy Tools and Gadgets Pregnant Celebrities Prenatal Tests Second Trimester Third Trimester Trying To Conceive Unplanned Pregnancies