Human Evolution: People With Back Pain May Have Vertebrae Like That Of An Ape

Back pain is one of the most common health problems for a majority of individuals. Some blame it to the lifestyle, while others bear it because of an injury. However, a latest research has revealed that some people might experience back pain because their chimp-like vertebrae.

According to the researchers, people who are more closely-related to their ape ancestors are likely to be more affected by a common cause of back pain. In addition, evidence studies during the research suggest that people who have apelike back bone are at a greater risk of suffering from a slipped disc.

An international team of scientists from Scotland, Iceland and Canada has claimed that even though humans have considerably evolved to adapt themselves for bipedal locomotion, certain individuals still have characteristics similar to that of a chimpanzee. This attributes to a small lesion in the disc between the vertebrae, and also results in back pain. The lesion, called Schmorl’s node, is a kind of a small hernia that can result in slip between the vertebral bones.

“Evolution is not perfect and some vertebral characteristics, such as the ones we identified as being similar to chimpanzees, may have remained within the human ‘blueprint’ and result in some people having vertebrae that are less able to withstand the pressures of bipedal walking,” said the lead researcher Professor Mark Collard.

During the research, the scientists analysed and compared the vertebrae of ancient human skeletons, orangutans and chimpanzees. The analysis was an attempt to establish a link between the shape, spinal movement and the health of the human vertebrae.

“Our findings show that the vertebrae of humans with disc problems are closer in shape to those of our closest ape relatives, the chimpanzee, than are the vertebrae of humans without disc problems," states the research paper.

The study has been published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

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