Human back pain linked to ape like bone structure
The study suggests that rapid evolution from walking on all fours to upright on two legs, leaving people with vertebrae similar to chimpanzees susceptible to back pain.
The research compared the vertebrae of 71 humans with 51 chimpanzees and orang-utans. Each of the species have different modes of movement, and different shaped vertebrae.
Where humans evolved to walk upright on two rear legs, chimps evolved to be knuckle-walkers, and orang-utans use all four limbs to climb trees.
The study, published in the BMC Evolutionary journal, has found that each of these species has differently shaped vertebrae, and that human vertebrae with the commonly diagnosed slipped disc looked more like those of chimpanzees than a healthy human vertebrae.
Researchers said that slipped discs producing the symptoms were more likely to affect people ‘towards the ancestral end of the range of human shape variation.” Such individuals, the research suggests, are less well adapted for bipedalism.
According to lead researcher, Dr Kimberly Plomp, from Canada’s Simon Fraser University, “the findings have potential implications for clinical research as they indicate why some individuals are more prone to back problems.”
Dr Plomp suggests that the finding may help with preventative care by identifying individuals who may be at risk of developing slipped discs. Slipped discs, or invertebral disc herniation, happens when cushioning pads of cartilage between vertebrae spilt and release a gel-like substance that puts pressure on the spinal nerves.
Up to 80% of people will suffer from back pain at some point in their life, and one in 20 will suffer a slipped disc, most commonly among men between ages 30 and 50.
It is not clear what the cause of crippling back pain is, but previously it has been suggested that as we age, our spinal discs become less flexible and more likely to rupture.
Source:
Metro, UK: http://metro.co.uk/2015/04/27/bad-back-sufferers-have-chimpanzee-vertebrae-study-finds-5169269/
