73 posts from 2009

I started taking Herbalife shake mid October. Just once a day for breakfast. I stopped in mid November because we went outstation for a few days.

Erector spinæ
The relations of the kidneys from behind. (Sacrospinalis visible at bottom left.)
Deep muscles of the back. (Erector spinae visible at bottom right.)
Latin	m. erector spinæ
Gray's	subject #115 397
Origin	on the spines of the last four thoracic vertebræ
Insertion	both the spines of the most cranial thoracic vertebrae and the cervical vertebrae
Artery	lateral sacral artery
Nerve	posterior branch of spinal nerve
Actions	extends the vertebral column
Antagonist	Rectus abdominis muscle

The Erector spinæ is a muscle of the back in humans and other animals. It is also known as sacrospinalis in older texts. A more modern term is extensor spinae,^[1] though this is not in widespread use. The name of the muscle is pronounced e-rec-tor speen-aye, or e-rec-tor spinae-ee.

It is really not just one muscle, but a bundle of muscles and tendons. It is paired and runs more or less vertically. It extends throughout the lumbar, thoracic and cervical regions, and lies in the groove to the side of the vertebral column.

Erector spinae is covered in the lumbar and thoracic regions by the lumbodorsal fascia, and in the cervical region by the nuchal ligament.

This large muscular and tendinous mass varies in size and structure at different parts of the vertebral column. In the sacral region it is narrow and pointed, and at its origin chiefly tendinous in structure.

In the lumbar region it is larger, and forms a thick fleshy mass which, on being followed upward, is subdivided into three columns; these gradually diminish in size as they ascend to be inserted into the vertebræ and ribs.

The erector spinae arises from the anterior surface of a broad and thick tendon, which is attached to the medial crest of the sacrum, to the spinous processes of the lumbar and the eleventh and twelfth thoracic vertebræ, and the supraspinal ligament, to the back part of the inner lip of the iliac crests and to the lateral crests of the sacrum, where it blends with the sacrotuberous and posterior sacroiliac ligaments.

Some of its fibers are continuous with the fibers of origin of the Glutæus maximus.

The muscular fibers form a large fleshy mass which splits, in the upper lumbar region into three columns, viz., a lateral, the Iliocostalis, an intermediate, the Longissimus, and a medial, the Spinalis.

Each of these consists from below upward, of three parts, as follows:

SOURCED FROM WIKIPEDIA

Psoas major muscle
The psoas major and nearby muscles
Horizontal disposition of the peritoneum in the lower part of the abdomen. (Psoas major labeled at bottom left.)
Latin	m. psoas major
Gray's	subject #127 467
Origin	Transverse processes of T12-L5 and the lateral aspects of the discs between them
Insertion	in the lesser trochanter of the femur
Artery	lumbar branch of iliolumbar artery
Nerve	Lumbar plexus via anterior branches of L1-L3 nerves
Actions	flexes and rotates laterally thigh
Antagonist	Gluteus maximus

SOURCED FROM WIKIPEDIA

Quadratus lumborum muscle
The relations of the kidneys from behind. (Quadratus lumborum visible at lower left.)
Deep muscles of the back. (Quadratus lumborum visible at bottom left.)
Latin	musculus quadratus lumborum
Gray's	subject #118 420
Origin	iliac crest and iliolumbar ligament
Insertion	Last rib and transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae
Artery	Lumbar arteries, lumbar branch of iliolumbar artery
Nerve	The twelfth thoracic and first through fourth lumbar nerves
Actions	Alone, lateral flexion of vertebral column; Together, depression of thoracic rib cage

The quadratus lumborum, or “QL,” is a common source of lower back pain.^[1] Because the QL connects the pelvis to the spine and is therefore capable of extending the lower back when contracting bilaterally, the two QLs pick up the slack, as it were, when the lower fibers of the erector spinae are weak or inhibited (as they often are in the case of habitual seated computer use and/or the use of a lower back support in a chair). Given their comparable mechanical disadvantage, constant contraction while seated can overuse the QLs, resulting in muscle fatigue.^[2] A constantly contracted QL, like any other muscle, will experience decreased bloodflow, and, in time, adhesions in the muscle and fascia may develop, the end point of which is muscle spasm.

This chain of events can be and often is accelerated by kyphosis which is invariably accompanied by “rounded shoulders,” both of which place greater stress on the QLs by shifting body weight forward, forcing the erector spinae, QLs, multifidi, and especially the levator scapulae to work harder in both seated and standing positions to maintain an erect torso and neck. The experience of “productive pain” or pleasure by a patient upon palpation of the QL is indicative of such a condition.

While stretching and strengthening the QL are indicated for unilateral lower back pain, heat/ice applications as well as massage and other myofascial therapies should be considered as part of any comprehensive rehabilitation regimen.^[3]

^{SOURCED FROM WIKIPEDIA}

Since I'm in Trauma Reporting... I should be doing my radiography.

It's my birthday month, a year older, a year wiser?

My tip is, work with the chiropractor. Help as much as u can in providing a precise history. And I've been mulling over it... I think it was the piriformismuscle giving me some deep, nagging pain. Felt much better after physiotherapist taught me the piriformis stretch. Chiro works on on my neck, lower back spinal alignment and piriformis. I had TENS for my neck/ shoulder. I must've been so uptight past few months. Last week: both physio andchiro had identified sacroiliac pain and we worked on it.

Hoping that I won't wake up in pain tomorrow. I asked, and he did say it may hurt during the first few visits.