Spinal posture
Spinal posture is the position of the spine in the human body. It is debated what the optimal spinal posture is, and whether poor spinal posture causes lower back pain. Neutral spine Looking directly at the front or back of the body, the 33 vertebrae in the spinal column should appear completely vertical. From a side view, the cervical (neck) region of the spine (C1–C7) is bent inward, the thoracic (upper back) region (T1–T12) bends outward, and the lumbar (lower back) region (L1–L5) bends inward. The sacrum (tailbone area) (S1–S5 fused) and coccyx (on average 4 fused) rest between the pelvic bones. A neutral pelvis is in fact slightly anteriorly rotated which means the anterior superior iliac spines should be just in front of the pubic symphysis not in the same vertical line. Posture abnormalities In medicine and occupations concerned with physical fitness, the concept of good posture is referred to as "neutral spine". In this context, proper posture or "neutral spine", is the proper alignment of the body between postural extremes. Deviations from neutral alignment are identified as excessive curvature or reduction in curvature. Rarely do these deviations in curvature occur in only one plane; however, they are typically