spine

Spine

The spine is made of 33 individual bones stacked one on top of the other. This spinal column provides the main support for your body, allowing you to stand upright, bend, and twist while protecting the spinal cord from injury. Strong muscles and bones, flexible tendons and ligaments, and sensitive nerves contribute to a healthy spine. Yet, any of these structures affected by strain, injury, or disease can cause pain.

Spinal Curves

Your spine is made up of three segments. When viewed from the side, these segments form three natural curves. The "c-shaped" curves of the neck (cervical spine) and lower back (lumbar spine) are called lordosis. The "reverse c-shaped" curve of the chest (thoracic spine) is called kyphosis.

These curves are important to balance and they help us to stand upright. If anyone of the curves becomes too large or small, it becomes difficult to stand up straight and our posture appears abnormal.

Abnormal curvatures of the spine are also referred to as spinal deformity. These types of conditions include kyphosis of the thoracic spine ("hunchback") and lordosis of the lumbar spine ("swayback").

Scoliosis is another type of spinal deformity. When viewing the spine from the front or back, scoliosis is a sideways curvature that makes the spine look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight "I."

Vertebrae

The cervical spine is made up of seven small vertebrae that begin at the base of the skull and end at the upper chest. The thoracic spine is made up of 12 vertebrae that start from the upper chest to the middle back and connect to the rib cage. The lumbar vertebra consists of five larger vertebrae. These vertebrae are larger because they carry more of your body's weight.