We’re Still Just Animals

Today at work one of the guys complained of back pain. Having gone through two discectomies myself with back Doctors, chiropractors and home remedies, I know his pain. So many people struggle with back pain, and it got me to thinking … why is back pain so rampant? I told my buddy, “It is because we used to be apes and our backs haven’t caught up with us in the evolutionary process.” He replied, “That is the most asinine things I have ever heard.” But is it?

More than one physician has mentioned that the reason so many people have back problems is because our backs haven’t had the time to change since we walked on all fours. Evolution has given us bigger brains, allowed us to walk upright and altered our diet. But not every part of our bodies has had a chance to change. Mankind began walking up-wright to evade predators or look for food. Our backs are developing slower than our brains.

Our bodies are slow to change. Proof of this can be found in our health problems of today. Your appendix is a vestigial organ, meaning it no longer has a use. The appendix was used to help in the digestion of leafy material. Since we no longer dine on tough tree leaves and roots, the appendix is no longer needed.

Other examples of vestigial organs are wisdom teeth. When early man starting eating meat their brains grew because of the high protein diet. The increase in cranial capacity took space away leaving a crowded mouth. Incoming wisdom teeth cause problems with most of us because our mouths no longer have the space for these seldom-used teeth.

The coccyx is your tail bone, a few vertebras at the end of your spine, is a sign that our ancestors once had a tail used for balance. Once Man started walking upright, tails were no longer needed. Even still, a small number of babies are born nowadays with little tails and have them removed. We lost our tails in the same way dolphins and whales lost their legs … their ancestors once walked on land, and we climbed in trees.