What does the lumbar physiological curvature kyphosis mean

Everyone should be familiar with the role of the lumbar spine. It mainly plays the role of balancing the human body and supporting the body's strength. The lumbar spine of normal people has a certain degree of curvature, but for people with some lumbar diseases, the curvature of the lumbar spine is very abnormal. When some people go to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor tells them that their lumbar spine has a reverse kyphosis. What does this mean?

Chronic injury or degeneration of the cervical spine and soft tissues causes imbalance in the internal and external mechanical balance of the spine, which compresses or stimulates the blood vessels, nerves and spinal cord in the neck, causing pain in the head, neck, shoulders, arms, upper limbs, middle back, chest and other symptoms, and even combined with limb dysfunction and other clinical syndromes. Mild symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, neck and shoulder pain, upper limb numbness, weakness, tinnitus, blurred vision, chest tightness and palpitations. Severe cases can also lead to limb paralysis, urinary and bowel disorders, and even life-threatening. There are many factors that can cause and aggravate the kyphosis of the cervical spine, and the frequent use of pillows during sleep is one of the important reasons.

For most people, at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the day is spent sleeping. Therefore, if pillows are used improperly or not at all, it is easy to cause or aggravate the kyphosis of the cervical spine. On the contrary, if you pay attention to and adjust the posture of the cervical spine during sleep, it can also have a preventive and therapeutic effect. A pillow is an important tool for maintaining the normal position of the head and neck, that is, the physiological curvature, during sleep. This physiological curve is not only a guarantee of the balance of the extrinsic muscles of the cervical spine, but also an indispensable condition for maintaining the physiological structure of the cervical spinal canal. If the pillow is selected and used improperly, it will not only destroy the external balance that maintains the normal curvature of the cervical spine, but also directly affect the size of the volume within the cervical canal and the physiological structure of local tissues. Therefore, the height of the pillow must be taken seriously.

As the saying goes, “sit back and relax,” but that’s not the case. Under normal circumstances, the physiological curve of the cervical spine is lordotic. When lying in the supine position, if the pillow is too low and the head and neck are tilted backward excessively, the lordotic curvature will increase. Not only will the muscles and ligaments in front of the vertebral body easily become fatigued due to excessive tension, but it may also cause chronic injuries. At the same time, the tissue behind the spinal canal can protrude forward into the spinal canal, increasing the pressure within the spinal canal; excessive backward tilt of the head and neck can also stretch the spinal canal, causing the spinal cord and nerve roots within the spinal canal to become relatively shorter, making symptoms more likely to occur under the influence of other factors. If the pillow is too high, the head and neck will bend forward excessively, which will easily cause strain on the muscles and ligaments behind the vertebrae, causing or aggravating the reverse curvature of the cervical spine.