Prevention

Unfortunately, there is no real prevention against sensitivity disorders. In general, it can be said that a balanced diet and a sufficient supply of vitamins and minerals help to keep the nerves healthy. A lot of exercise, avoiding stress and well-fitting clothes/shoes can also reduce the risk of nervous disorders. Physiotherapeutic treatments can also help prevent sensitivity disorders in the long term.

Dermatoms

A dermatome is an area of skin that is supplied and controlled by the nerve fibers of a specific olfactory marrow root (spinal nerve root) alone. The term “dermatome” comes from the Greek and is composed of the two words skin and section. In medicine, knowledge of dermatomes is very important, especially in cases of loss of sensitivity.

Classification of dermatomes: An embryo has three so-called cotyledons (ectoderm, mesoderm, entoderm) from which the different types of tissue develop as it matures. In the area of the trunk, the “primordial vertebrae” (somites) are formed first on the side of the neural tube from the mesoderm. From the laterally rear part of these somites, the subcutis and the skin ultimately develop.

This results in a 1:1 assignment of a spinal nerve to a specific skin area. For this reason, the corresponding dermatomes are also named after the nerves that supply them. In the area of the cervical vertebrae, there are eight spinal nerves called C1 to C8 and so the corresponding dermatomes are also named.

However, with one exception: there is no dermatome C1, since the spinal nerve fiber of the first cervical vertebra has exclusively motor functions and no sensitive functions. The trunk vertebrae have twelve spinal nerves and also twelve dermatomes, which are called Th1 to Th12. The lumbar and sacral vertebrae each have five spinal nerves, so that the dermatomes are also called L1 to L5 and S1 to S5.

These assignments are already in place in the unborn child and remain in place in adults. It is easier to classify the relationship between spinal nerve and dermatome if one imagines the human being bent forward (i.e. in his most original, animal-like posture) so that arms and legs point to the ground at an angle of 90 degrees from the back. In this way, the body can then be divided into strips from which the dermatomes can be read. Starting with dermatome C2 on the head and ending with dermatome S5 on the back of the buttocks.