500
Explain the specific characteristics that contribute to the spine’s stability and modify its mobility in one way or another. Please describe both active and passive.
Active:
- Maintaining muscle stiffness in the spinal muscles is a dynamic activity.
- The tension in postural muscles must constantly adapt to changes in position, load, and even breathing pattern.
- The neuromuscular base for stability is dependent on voluntary control, reflex activity, and feedback responses.
Passive:
- The tendency of the compressed intervertebral disc to push the vertebrae apart, combined with the tendency of the ligaments to press them together, is an important factor in the stability of the spinal column.
- There is a direct relationship between the thickness of the discs and the degree of movement permitted, with greater freedom of motion where the discs are thick.