Learn About The Spine: Part 2: Back Pain Series
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The spine is made up of a total of 33 bones when intact. These bones are known as vertebrae, and each individual vertebrae is stacked atop another to for the spinal column. These bones are broken down in the following:
- 24 vertebrae
- the sacrum which is composed of five fused vertebrae, and
- the tailbone or coccyx which is composed of four fused vertebrae.
The spine has four regions which start at the neck and progress downward within the body toward the pelvis. The regions of the spine work together providing the majority of the strength, stability and flexibility of movement for the upper body and are weight bearing as well. These spinal regions are:
- the cervical spine
- the thoracic spine
- the lumbar spine and
- the sacral spine.
The spine may seem like a simple collection of bones, but it is integral to the proper functioning of the body's fluidity of movement in actions such as twisting, bending and rotation. While, the spine itself does not actually perform these motions, the spines flexibility is a combined effort of the spinal column and the facets joints and intevertebral disks which are structures between the bones of the spine. Without a correctly aligned spinal column each of these actions can bring on pain which can become chronic, and without a properly functioning spine your range of motion of the upper body will be severely limited if not completely incapacitated.
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