You scoff at the ridiculous
title, but it's true!
Herniation of an intervertebral disc is defined by protrusion,
extrusion, or sequestration of that disc from its normal position. This
pathology has the potential to go undiagnosed due to a lack of symptoms or
produce debilitating problems for someone who suffers from a serious case. It
is commonly associated with a radiating pain from the lower back to the outer
thigh – sciatica (DynaMed).
A study carried out by Plomp et al, in 2015 explored the
relationship between vertebral shape and the propensity to suffer from a
disc herniation - more commonly known as a slipped disc. Humans are unusually
apt to suffer from back issues at far higher rates than other non-human
primates. You don't commonly hear about a chimp at your local zoo throwing out
their back. The authors of this study hypothesized that in addition to disc
shape, our unusual bipedal mode of locomotion could contribute to this pathology.
They carried out their study with particular focus on human subjects whose vertebral
morphology most resembled their ancestors – the chimpanzee and orangutan. The
assumption was made that these individuals would be less equipped to walk upright.
The
study focused on the last thoracic and first lumbar vertebrae in the species
comparison. They used specific landmarks on these vertebrae to measure the
dimensions of the vertebrae of the three species. The authors found no
significant difference between the measurements of chimpanzees and those of humans
with a herniated disc – the vertebrae were identical. This data shows that
those with vertebral morphology similar to that of early primates are less equipped
for bipedal motion and more likely to slip a disc. Chimpanzee vertebrae, as
well as humans with a slipped disc have a number of morphological differences
from that of a healthy human – suggesting the possibility of diagnosis before a
disc is slipped.
Ancestral
shape could inform health professionals about which of their patients are at
risk for back issues before they arise and assist in prevention and treatment.
Further research could be done to determine how best this data can be used. It’s
incredible to think that our anatomy can resemble our ancestor’s so exactly –
grandpa really did have the back of a chimp.
DynaMed [Internet]. Ipswich (MA): EBSCO
Information Services. 1995 - . Record No. T116077, Lumbar Disk Herniation;
[updated 2018 Nov 30, cited
2020 Oct 1]. Available from https://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116077.
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Plomp, K. A., Viðarsdóttir, U. S.,
Weston, D. A., Dobney, K., & Collard, M. (2015). The ancestral shape
hypothesis: An evolutionary explanation for the occurrence of intervertebral
disc herniation in humans. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 15(1), 68. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-015-0336-y
I really enjoyed reading this post. Thinking about other species experiencing back pain is something that I have never thought about before. When comparing a species like humans that use bipedal motion to a species that use 4 limbs to move around I immediately think about gravity. Humans have much greater gravitational force on our backs and lower bodies. As an engineer, I would love to see a force analysis of bipedal vs quadpedal motion. In my opinion, understanding the force impact on different parts of the body could be a useful prevention tool for an injury like a slipped disc. Overall, I was intrigued by this study and would love to learn more about this topic.
ReplyDeleteA force analysis would be really interesting
DeleteThis is a very interesting reading and I think it is very informative how you stated the significant similarities between these primates and humans. I wonder if this means that if people have a herniated disc they should focus more recovery on walking upright again or if it is better to be more quadrupedal recovery? I think it is really important to look at morphological differences and similarities so that we can make better predictions and strategies for solving these issues. I do wonder also if we should be comparing other animals that are similar to us to uncover more information about how certain body structures will affect different vertebrate structures. This was a very informative article and hopefully we find better ways to treat these issues by looking to our past.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and informative read. To think that we can tell predict a spinal issue before it happens through measurements of someone’s vertebrae is quite fascinating. Now knowing this, I wonder if the techniques used in this study could be applied in routine physicals. Understanding what type of risk of injury individuals have could be very useful for the people to know. Also, I could very easily see these techniques being used in athletics to see if someone is more susceptible to a certain injury so they could better prepare the athlete.
ReplyDelete