• Infection, lack of exercise, dehydration, stress and poor diet and posture all cause accumulative damage to joints causing them to swell thicken 'remodel'and stiffen. This causes swelling pain and discomfort. This symptom is one of a number of signs of arthritis. If you check out some Arthritis sites you will receive good advice on how to prevent further damage and reduce disability. In addition to all good health advice, I would highly recommend a form of massage called 'Bowen Therapy'and Pilates as methods of restoring circulation and reducing swelling and deformity in joints. I would strongly advise everyone to read Dr F. Batmanghelidj's book 'YOUR BODY'S MANY CRIES FOR WATER', which demonstrates how an appropriate intake of water and salt, can produce massive improvements in general health and will assist in restoring health and mobility to joints. Arthritis is often thought of as a disease which only affects the elderly. This is not the case. It can strike at any age. Some life style changes now would be a worthwhile investment for your future health and mobility.

• A severe "hump" in the back is caused by compression fractures in the vertebrae (the bones in the spine) often attributed to osteoporosis, a disease in which the bones become very brittle. The hump comes about when the vertebrae collapse in or slip forward on one another.

• Prevention is key, so get plenty of calcium and weightbearing exercise.One other answer can be Ankylosing Spondylitis (Marie Strumpell disease). It's an inherited disease, and if diagnosed early and an upper back brace is worn, the upper spine & neck 'hump' appearance can be prevented. posture has nothing to do with getting a hump in your back if you dont get enough calcium it causes bones to deform and causes a hump in your back.

I have two. 1. Your spine stops curving when you stop growing
2. It does not cause pain itself:)

• You're 20% more likely to develop scoliosis if someone else in your family also has scoliosis.
• In 80% of scoliosis cases, the cause is unknown-that's known as idiopathic scoliosis.
• Scoliosis is usually painless.
• Girls are at least four times as likely to develop scoliosis as boys?and doctors don't know why that is.
• 96% of adolescents with scoliosis continue to play sports.

Background/Anatomy

The spine has 23 total pairs (46) of facet joints located at the back or rear portion of the spinal column. These are special gliding joints that are made by a flat projection (zygapophyseal process or projection) that comes from one spinal bone and meets or contacts to another flat projection that makes up a facet joint.

Each facet joint is covered in a thick layer of ligaments to support and hold the facet joint together.

Hypertrophy is a medical term that means that something (muscle, liver tissue, ligament) is larger or greater than it was originally.

In this case, the term usually suggests that the facet joint is larger or greater than normal due to increased size of the bony projection and the ligaments that are all part of the facet structure. This change of facet hypertrophy usually occurs as one of the first signs of spinal osteoarthritis. Arthritis causes the body to deposit new bone to these joints in an attempt to make these joints stronger and not break down.

Interpretation

Basically, your spinal joints have worn out a little bit. Facets are the rear part of your spine, where the joints meet. Hypertrophy means growth. Basically, arthritis in the spine.

Other language

Facet hypertrophy may be described as bilteral (occurring on both sides), left, or right.

It may be described as cervical, thoracic, or lumbar (in the upper, middle, or lower spine), by the two bones that form the joint (such as L3/L4 to note that it's the facet joint between the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae), or multilevel.

The hypertrophy may be described by severity, such as mild, moderate, pronounced, advanced, minimal, etc.

Most people are familiar with the sudden pain of a muscle cramp. The rapid, uncontrolled contraction, or spasm, happens unexpectedly, with either no stimulation or some trivially small one. The muscle contraction and pain lasts for several minutes, and then slowly eases. Cramps may affect any muscle, but are most common in the calves, feet, and hands. While painful, they are harmless, and in most cases, not related to any underlying disorder. Nonetheless, cramps and spasms can be manifestations of many neurological or muscular diseases.

The terms cramp and spasm can be somewhat vague, and they are sometimes used to include types of abnormal muscle activity other than sudden painful contraction. These include stiffness at rest, slow muscle relaxation, and spontaneous contractions of a muscle at rest (fasciculation). Fasciculation is a type of painless muscle spasm, marked by rapid, uncoordinated contraction of many small muscle fibers. A critical part of diagnosis is to distinguish these different meanings and to allow the patient to describe the problem as precisely as possible.

Causes

Normal voluntary muscle contraction begins when electrical signals are sent from the brain through the spinal cord along nerve cells called motor neurons (Nerve cells within the central nervous system that carry nerve impulses controlling muscle movement). These include both the upper motor neurons within the brain and the lower motor neurons (nerve cells within the central nervous system that carry nerve impulses controlling muscle movement) within the spinal cord and leading out to the muscle. At the muscle, chemicals released by the motor neuron stimulate the internal release of calcium ions from stores within the muscle cell. These calcium ions then interact with muscle proteins within the cell, causing the proteins (actin and myosin) to slide past one another. This motion pulls their fixed ends closer, thereby shortening the cell and, ultimately, the muscle itself. Recapture of calcium and unlinking of actin and myosin allows the muscle fiber to relax.

Abnormal contraction may be caused by abnormal activity at any stage in this process. Certain mechanisms within the brain and the rest of the central nervous system help regulate contraction. Interruption of these mechanisms can cause spasm. Motor neurons that are overly sensitive may fire below their normal thresholds. The muscle membrane itself may be over sensitive, causing contraction without stimulation. Calcium ions may not be recaptured quickly enough, causing prolonged contraction.

Interuption of brain mechanisms and overly sensitive motor neurons may result from damage to the nerve pathways. Possible causes include stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, neurodegenerative diseases, trauma, spinal cord injury, and nervous system poisons such as strychnine, tetanus, and certain insecticides. Nerve damage may lead to a prolonged or permanent muscle shortening called contracture.

Changes in muscle responsiveness may be due to or associated with:

Prolonged exercise. Curiously, relaxation of a muscle actually requires energy to be expended. The energy is used to recapture calcium and to unlink actin and myosin. Normally, sensations of pain and fatigue signal that it is time to rest. Ignoring or overriding those warning signals can lead to such severe energy depletion that the muscle cannot be relaxed, causing a cramp. The familiar advice about not swimming after a heavy meal, when blood flow is directed away from the muscles, is intended to avoid this type of cramp. Rigor mortis, the stiffness of a corpse within the first 24 hours after death, is also due to this phenomenon.

Dehydration and salt depletion. This may be brought on by protracted vomiting or diarrhea, or by copious sweating during prolonged exercise, especially in high temperatures. Loss of fluids and salts--especially sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium--can disrupt ion balances in both muscle and nerves. This can prevent them from responding and recovering normally, and can lead to cramp.

Metabolic disorders that affect the energy supply in muscle. These are inherited diseases in which particular muscle enzymes are deficient. They include deficiencies of myophosphorylase (McArdle's disease), phosphorylase b kinase, phosphofructokinase, phosphoglycerate kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase.

Myotonia. This causes stiffness due to delayed relaxation of the muscle, but does not cause the spontaneous contraction usually associated with cramps. However, many patients with myotonia do experience cramping from exercise. Symptoms of myotonia are often worse in the cold. Myotonias include myotonic dystrophy, myotonia congenita, paramyotonia congenita, and neuromyotonia.

Fasciculations may be due to fatigue, cold, medications, metabolic disorders, nerve damage, or neurodegenerative disease, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Most people experience brief, mild fasciculations from time to time, usually in the calves.

Symptoms

The pain of a muscle cramp is intense, localized, and often debilitating Coming on quickly, it may last for minutes and fade gradually. Contractures develop more slowly, over days or weeks, and may be permanent if untreated. Fasciculations may occur at rest or after muscle contraction, and may last several minutes.

Diagnosis

Abnormal contractions are diagnosed through a careful medical history, physical and neurological examination, and electromyography of the affected muscles. Electromyography records electrical activity in the muscle during rest and movement.

Treatment

Most cases of simple cramps require no treatment other than patience and stretching. Gently and gradually stretching and massaging the affected muscle may ease the pain and hasten recovery.

More prolonged or regular cramps may be treated with drugs such as carbamazepine, phenytoin, or quinine. Fluid and salt replacement, either orally or intravenously, is used to treat dehydration. Treatment of underlying metabolic or neurologic disease, where possible, may help relieve symptoms.

Alternative Treatment

Cramps may be treated or prevented with Gingko (Ginkgo biloba) or Japanese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa). Supplements of vitamin E, niacin, calcium, and magnesium may also help. Taken at bedtime, they may help to reduce the likelihood of night cramps.

Prevention

The likelihood of developing cramps may be reduced by eating a healthy diet with appropriate levels of minerals, and getting regular exercise to build up energy reserves in muscle. Avoiding exercising in extreme heat helps prevent heat cramps. Heat cramps can also be avoided by taking salt tablets and water before prolonged exercise in extreme heat. Taking a warm bath before bedtime may increase circulation to the legs and reduce the incidence of nighttime leg cramps.

The Lumbar Curve effects the lower part of the spine and often curves to the left. This curve remains fairly flexible, but can stiffen with age and develop arthritis.

A Lumbar curve does not often cause serious deformity.

A. Right thoracic Scoliosis indicates that the major scoliosis is concentrated in the thoracic (mid-back) region and curves to the right. In the right thoracic scoliosis there may also be a counter curve to the left in the lumbar (lower back) region, but this is a less severe curve.

B. Left lumbar Scoliosis indicates that the major curve is to the left and is concentrated in the lumbar region. There may be an opposite curve less extreme to the right in the thoracic region.

C. Right thoraco-lumbar Scoliosis indicates that the major curve is to the right in the thoracic and lumbar region. This is commonly known as a "C" curve.

D. Right thoracic-left lumbar Scoliosis The last type of curvature is the combined curve where the major curve is in the thoracic region with an equal counter curve to the left in the lumbar region. This is commonly known as an "S" curve.

For unknown reasons, 90 percent of thoracic and double curves are right convexity (curve to the right); 80 percent of the thoraco-lumbar curves also are right convexity; and 70 percent of the lumbar curves are left convexity. There can also be triple curves with an additional lateral curve in the cervical or neck region. Also two or more lateral curves can be in the thoracic region of the back with a major lumbar curve. With a more severe scoliosis, seven times as many women as men have scoliosis.

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