The spine is an elegant structure. from the side it takes the form of an elongated s, the upper back bowing outward and the lower back curving slightly inward. your spine, or backbone, helps hold your body upright. Without it, you couldn’t walk, run, or play sports. If you look at yourself sideways in the mirror or look at a friend from the side, you’ll notice that the back isn’t flat like a piece of board. Instead, it curves in and out between your neck and lower back. some curvature in the neck, upper trunk and lower trunk is normal. However, when there are abnormal side-to-side (lateral) curves in the spinal column, we refer to this as functional scoliosis. Functional scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine. While small curves generally do not cause problems, larger curves can cause discomfort. If a functional scoliosis curve gets worse, the spine will also rotate or twist, in addition to curving side to side. There are no activities, including sports, that doctors know about that can make functional scoliosis worse. A curved spine can cause someone’s body to tilt to the left or right. These problems may be noticed when a kid is trying on new clothes. Continue reading
Tag Archives: muscular dystrophy
Abnormal enlargement of the heart Part 1
Cardiac enlargemrs to an increase in the size of the heart. There are two types of cardiac enlargement: hypertrophy and dilation. (Though usually occurring separately, they may occur at the same time.) Hypertrophy involves an increase in the thickness of the heart muscle. Dilation involves an increase in the size of the inside cavity of a chamber of the heart. Hypertrophy usually occurs in only one chamber while dilation may occur in one, two, three, or all of the chambers, based on its cause. In most cases, cardiac enlargement is abnormal and accompanied by additional cardiovascular problems. The one exception is regular aerobic exercise, which produces a beneficial enlargement involving both hypertrophy and dilation of the heart. Continue reading