Your back and spine are made up of a complex latticework of bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves that are critical to the functioning of your entire body. The spinal cord, after all, the highway on which signals travel back and forth between the brain and the other parts of the body, runs down the middle of the back.

Keeping the spinal cord and its offshoots free of obstruction is one of the keys to health and the smooth functioning of your other parts.The spinal column, through which the cord runs, is made up of more than 30 individual bones, collectively called the vertebrae. They are separated by flexible pads of cartilage called discs. The spinal cord runs from the base of the brain down through a corridor created by holes in the vertebrae. Nerves emanate between the vertebrae and carry signals to the body.

The spine has four sections: the upper part, essentially the neck, is called the cervical spine; the upper back, the thoracic; the lower back, the lumbar; and below that the sacrum and the coccyx, commonly called the tailbone. It is in the lumbar region where most back pain develops. The spinal cord actually ends just below the rib cage. From there, nerves that reach the lower back and legs grow through the spinal column and form a bundle that looks like a horse's tail, hence its Latin name, cauda equina.

Talk with your chiropractor for more information about your spine!

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