The spine is one large balance organ.
A Toastmaster’s Companion 10/29/2007
When I was fresh out of high school, still living in Southern Utah, I attended a wedding at the St. George Mormon Temple. The St George temple is one of the oldest temples in Mormon history, even older than the magnanimous, gothic temple in Salt Lake City. It is tradition for a lot of families that pictures are taken outside of the temple on the grandiose steps of the temple leading to an entrance that is essentially off limits to anybody. This grand outdoor staircase is steep, whitewashed glossy, and beautiful.
Did I say glossy?
When we were taking pictures that day, we were all huddled together on this staircase, holding on to one another, trying not to shove, trying not to fall, and trying to fit everyone in the picture. I remember standing there, trying to help with the nuptial huddle, when I heard some commotion to my right. A friend’s grandmother was laying on the first step, clearly in distress. We called the ambulance, and had her taken to the nearby hospital.
It turns out that she had broken the neck of her left femur after she slipped and fell on the steps that day. She survived that day, but she died about six months later. It was the osteoporosis that caused the femoral neck to fracture, but it was her poor balance that made her fall. It’s the poor balance that causes 300,000 elderly people to fall every year. After a fall, they have a 15-20 percent chance of death within one year. One half of those who fall never get their normal activities of daily living back.
It was poor balance that caused her to fall in the first place. Balance is maintained by sensory input from the eyes, the inner ears, and the spine. The spine is the largest balance organ in the body. Of course, the spine is lumped together with the lower and upper limbs for the aggregate of somatic sensory input to the brain, but the spine is the largest and most important.
The spine is composed of 24 moving segments, and has a moderate degree of normal flexibility. Most people will tell you that the spine is there to physically support the rest of the body, or to protect the brain and spinal cord in its bony casing. Even experts often overlook that profound importance of the spine in providing balance information to the brain. Perhaps there is this oversight because most of this proprioceptive information from the spine comes in and gets processed unconsciously.
This information coming in from the spine is like an eight lane autobahn highway to the brain. There are big, thick cords of fatty neurons cabling through the spinal cord and to the cerebellum for balance and postural information. Dissect the brainstem, and you’ll be amazed at the brain real-estate devoted to postural information from the spine to the brain. Big fatty cords. In the brainstem, information for balance converges from the cerebellum, the spinal neurons, the vestibular system, and vision. This confluence of information subconsciously allows you to walk upright.
Sensors for balance in the spine comes from the small muscles of the spinal segments, the joint surfaces, the joint capsules, and the ligaments supporting the spine. This array of muscle and ligament fibers gives a tremendous amount of feedback into the spinal nerves. This feedback consists of a continuum of the individual joint and whole spine range of motion, with different intensities for different angles of that range of motion.
Good spinal hygiene is important of the elderly. The elderly need balance for morbidity, mobility, and utility. They need to avoid morbidity, or death, by preventing falls from poor balance. Elderly people want more mobility by having greater flexibility in the spine and limbs. This greater mobility allows for more utility in their lives. This utility is the ability to cook, clean, and play for themselves, and not relying on caregivers to do the work for them. It’s more independence. It’s the ability to enjoy their latter years full of life.
Golfers directly and immediately benefit from a spine that works well. A spine that is healthy means better flexibility, effortless feedback, and more force. The average golf professional has a trunk range of motion of 180 degrees, allowing the club head speed to travel at 115 mph during the downswing and follow-through. The top ½ percent of professional golfers have a 200 degree arc, allowing for a 125mph club head speed. Tiger Woods is said to have a 215 degree arc, allowing for 135 mph at the club head. This flexibility can mean a difference of 60 yards or more of driving distance.
Balance feedback in golf is important for accurate positioning of the club head during the entire arc of the swing. Better feedback and positioning results in accuracy. Better accuracy leads to a lower score and bragging rights. Good spinal function means having stronger muscles, and therefore more force in the swing. Smash the club for more yardage. As the spine is the core of the body, a well spine give you a better game.
Whatever your game, work on your spinal hygiene. Get yourself into a preventative and proactive strengthening program. Do some balance exercises so your joint and muscle receptors get a workout. Stretch all of your muscles so the joints they move are fully articulated. If there are any imbalances in the spine, get them adjusted and worked on by a chiropractor. If an old injury has left gristle in your meat, have some rolfing or other types of body work done on them. Bring the health and vitality back to your body.
Todd Lloyd, DC
St. George Chiropractor