The Functions of Back Muscles

December 4, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

The functions of the muscles in the back are many. Not only do they allow us to stand and sit upright but they allow for all major movements of the body as well. This includes moving the arm from the shoulder area, bending from the waist, twisting from side to side, moving the neck and head from one side or another, and any other movements along the upper body.

The back muscles also help us to walk as they support the leg muscles at the hip area. They also even help us to breathe, since the lungs themselves do not move but are made to push in and out by the muscles surrounding them, including the back muscles. This is why many with back injuries find it difficult or painful to breathe.

As a matter of fact, there is virtually no movement that a human makes that doesn’t involve the back muscles. When you move your head, your arms at the shoulders, your legs at the hips, and even when you breathe deeply the back muscles are affected and used. When you’re flat on your back or are sitting and need to change positions in any way, the back muscles are involved even if you’re just turning your head or curling your arms.

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When you go to sit in a chair, the back muscles actually control the body’s movement so that it doesn’t just collapse in a heap or slam itself into the furniture. Standing straight up requires the use of back muscles as they help to keep the body upright and not slumped over or squished down into a little heap.

When you realize the complexity of the back muscles and how they’re used and involved in virtually everything you do, you realize how even the slightest injury or imperfection can cause pain during any movement or activity, not just those that are particularly strenuous.

Realizing all these various functions of the back can and should give us a better appreciation for why someone with an injured back, with underdeveloped muscles, with strained muscles, or with certain diseases and conditions of any element of the back can be in extreme pain with even the slightest movement.

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The Muscles and Ligaments

December 3, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

Most parts of the body are attached to everything else and this includes muscles and ligaments which are attached to the bones; this is another function of the bones in the body, including the spine – to hold muscles and ligaments in place.

The muscles in the back are some of the most involved and developed in the body since they are required to do so much.  Back muscles help to move the entire body and its frame, and no matter what you weigh that’s always going to be a lot of mass to move!  If you weigh a hundred pounds, your back muscles are pushing that much weight when you go to stand up from a seated position – something need to push your entire body out of that chair, and it’s your back muscles that do that.  When you go to sit from a standing position, those back muscles control that movement and provide a barrier that keeps you from just collapsing and perhaps injuring yourself.  So no matter what you’re doing, even if you’re sitting still, the back muscles are on high alert and are being used at virtually all times.

The widest muscles in the back are the trapezius, the levator scapula, the rhomboids, and the latissimus dorsi.  These muscles crisscross over the areas of the back and are joined by many other smaller muscles that stretch anywhere from the shoulder and neck area all the way down past the hips to the buttocks.

Back Muscles

Back Muscles

Back Muscles

The deltoid fascia is a thick muscle around the shoulder joint.  It is attached to the collar bone and shoulder blade and to the upper arm.  Any movement of the upper arm in the shoulder area involves the deltoid muscle.  Bodybuilders usually try to develop their “delts” as they are very prominent muscles and can give a look of being lean and fit when properly developed.

The sacrospinalis is actually several muscles that form a thick mass that runs from the top of the neck to the small of the back.  These muscles link the vertebrae together which then helps you to stand, sit, bend, and twist from side to side.  These muscles are usually involved when there is pain in the sides.

The obliques are muscles that run along the side of the torso and envelope the rib cage itself.  When these muscles are relaxed the rib cage can be seen through the skin.  These muscles assist in flexing or bending when you spin or twist along the trunk area.

The gluteus maximum, or what we call the buttocks, is actually the largest and most powerful set of muscles in the body.  This muscle is actually under the fat that makes up the buttocks and wraps around the pelvic area and stretches from the thighs to the lower back.  The gluteus maximum is what we use when we walk or run and is also involved in moving from a sitting to a standing position, and provides guidance and protection when we go from standing to sitting.  There are other muscles involved in the gluteus region, all of which help when walking, running, twisting, or any other major movement that involves the midsection.

The latissimus dorsi is a wide, flat muscle located on the lower half of the back.  The levator scapula lies along the back and side of the neck.  It originates deep in the side of the neck near the base of the skull, passes down and back and inserts in shoulder blade.  These muscles help when we move our arms or make any movement that involves our shoulders.

The rhomboideus major and the rhomboideus minor form a flat muscle on the upper back and these muscles extend from the spine to shoulder blade.  These muscles help to assist the head, neck and shoulders.  Any movement of the head, even a sneeze or cough, involves these muscles.  When you have pain in the neck or upper shoulders it is usually these muscles.  They not only help with movement but are also working when you hold your head and neck steady and still.

The serratus anterior extends along the side of the ribs and is in the area of the armpit.  This muscle is used every time you reach forward with your arms or extend them in any way.  The sternocleidomastoid is a back muscle located along the neck and is used to tilt the head from side to side.  The splenius capitis is used to turn the head from side to side.

There are many other muscles in and around the areas of the back, neck, and sides and all of which are necessary and vital for virtually every movement you might make, from a slight tilt of the head to stretching your legs and shrugging your shoulders.

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