Some of my favorite technological and scientific advances are in the realm of forensics – all kinds. There’s the crime type everyone seems familiar with. Digital was part of the job in several assignments with both the Air Force and Lockheed. It’s pretty amazing how you can break down the physical world to it’s most fundamental parts and get a first-hand reality peek into the past. And there’s no argument. Given a “thing,” the arrangement of molecules “is what it is” now. Based on an unbroken chain of scientifically-proven causes and events, where it came from and how it got to be here this way, can be factually determined, beyond a reasonable doubt. Not being a doctor or medical examiner myself, I can’t be too technical about this, but here goes:
Take my lumbar spine, for example. An L4-5 annular tear reflects a traumatic force applied in some direction. Z axis spinal flex is minimal, because the spine is held together by the annulus portion between each disc and vertebrae. It’s basically the glue holding everything together, propping you up while standing. OTOH, we have great spinal flexibility in the X-Y axes due to nature’s mechanical engineering of the vertebrae and discs – ask any hoola hoop or gymnastics buff. So unless you are being drawn and quartered, a traumatic force causing an annular tear may potentially source from any 360-degree radius direction.
Thanks to the miracle of modern medical imaging techniques, we just happen to know exactly where my annular tear is located. Looking down with north facing front it’s at about East/Southeast on the compass dial. So by definition, the direction traumatic force sourced from was West/Northwest. Hold a small stick by the ends in your hands, arms outstretched straight in front, and bend in a plane parallel to the ground until it starts to break (tear). Now imagine you are facing East/South east, and the stick is my spine.
Anybody see a fresh hip replacement back there somewhere? I’m gonna say we got a bit overzealous seating the cup. I’m no orthopedic surgeon, so what the fuck do I know. We’ll find out, sooner or later, one way or the other – hopefully not in the course of a wrongful death lawsuit.