What is Spine?

                       Full Spine Description

 Prior to adolescence, the spine consists of 33 bones because the sacrum’s five bones and the coccyx’s four do not fuse together until adolescence.

The vertebrae are named by the first letter of their region (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) and with a number to indicate their position along the superior-inferior axis. For example, the fifth lumbar vertebra (which is most inferior one, located beneath the fourth lumbar vertebra) is called the L5 vertebra.



Each vertebra has several important parts: the body, vertebral foramen, spinous process, and transverse process.

• The body is the main weight-bearing region of a vertebra, making up the bulk of the bone’s mass.
• Extending from the body, the transverse processes are thin columns of bone that point out to the left and right sides of the body.
• The spinous process extends from the ends of the transverse processes in the posterior direction.
• Between the body, transverse processes and spinous process is the vertebral foramen, a hollow space that contains the spinal cord and meninges.

Between the vertebrae of the spine are thin regions of cartilage known as the intervertebral discs. Intervertebral discs are made of an outer shell known as the annulus fibrosus and a soft, pulpy region known as the nucleus pulposus in the middle.

• The annulus fibrosus is made of tough fibrocartilage that binds the vertebrae together but is flexible enough to allow for our movements.
• The inner nucleus pulposus acts as a shock absorber to support the body’s weight and prevent the vertebrae from painfully crashing into each other while under strain.

The vertebrae of the spine align so that their vertebral canals form a hollow, bony tube to protect the spinal cord from external damage and infection. Between the vertebrae are small spaces known as intervertebral canals that allow spinal nerves to exit the spinal cord and connect to the various regions of the body.






There are 5 major regions of the spine:




1.Cervical: The 7 vertebrae in the neck form the cervical region of the spine. Cervical vertebrae are the thinnest and most delicate vertebrae in the spine but offer great flexibility to the neck. The first cervical vertebra, C1, supports the skull and is named “atlas” after the Greek titan who held the Earth on his shoulders. The skull pivots on the atlas when moving up and down. The second cervical vertebra, C2, is also known as the “axis” because it allows the skull and atlas to rotate to the left and right.

1. Thoracic: The 12 vertebrae in the chest region form the spine’s thoracic region. Thoracic vertebrae are larger and stronger than cervical vertebrae but are much less flexible. The spinous processes of the thoracic vertebrae point inferiorly to help lock the vertebrae together. A unique feature of the thoracic vertebrae is that each one forms joints with a pair of ribs to form the sturdy rib cage that protects the organs of the chest. 
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7. Lumbar: The 5 vertebrae in the lower back form the lumbar region of the spine. Lumbar vertebrae are even larger and stronger than thoracic vertebrae, but are more flexible due to the lack of ribs in the lumbar region. All of the upper body’s weight bears down on the lumbar vertebrae, leading to many back problems in this region despite the size and strength of the vertebrae.
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14. Sacral: The sacral region of the spine contains only the sacrum, a single bone in the adult skeleton that is formed by the fusion of 5 smaller vertebrae during adolescence. The sacrum is a flat, triangular bone found in the lower back and wedged between the 2 hip bones.
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21. Coccygeal: The spine’s coccygeal region contains only the coccyx, a single bone in the adult skeleton that is formed by the fusion of 4 tiny vertebrae during adolescence. The coccyx is often referred to as the human tailbone, as this region is homologous to the tail bones of animals that have tails. In humans, the coccyx bears our body weight when sitting down and provides attachment points for muscles of the pelvic and gluteal regions. While most people have a coccyx made of 4 fused vertebrae, the coccyx may consist of as few as 3 or as many as 5 vertebrae. The length of the coccyx has no effect on the body’s function.
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Spine is key of good helth

It has been a few weeks since my last column, so I am going to quickly re-iterate what we talked about. It all starts at the top. Our brain is every thought and controls every movement, sensation, function and healing through-out our entire body. In the right circumstances, it performs perfectly.

However, it relies completely on the spinal cord to deliver messages to every part of the body. Your brain is delicate. That's why you have a skull to protect it. Your spinal cord is just as delicate and that is the primary purpose of your spine, to protect your spinal cord. Spinal misalignments cause your spine to break down six to 10 times faster than normal and cause degeneration, arthritis and pain.....ouch!.

More importantly though, they immediately affect the spinal cord and alter the signals that it carries to and from the body. How the spinal cord is affected by misalignment of the spine is the focus of all of our future columns. If you noticed the title at the top, you'll see I have given this column the title, The Spine Diaries.

 

My goal is to write a column each week about someone's life that has been changed, or saved, by having spinal cord pressure removed. Correcting the spine allows the brain to breathe life to the rest of the body. Sometimes the correction literally allows the person to breathe. For this first story with X-rays showing corrective change, I have decided to share with you a case that spinal correction restored Natacha's ability to breathe and to really live again:

 

"This is the story of how my life changed. In high school, I was a medium distance runner. But things changed when I was diagnosed with asthma. I was placed on a large dose of medication and was told that I should limit my physical activity or there could be horrible consequences. I would sometimes cough for over an hour at a time, especially in the evening, and sometimes it was even worse. It wasn't just coughing, but it became choking and would make me be sick to my stomach. 

Thankfully, after university I started seeing a chiropractor who would help cure me of the disease that held me captive for many years. After I was adjusted for a while, the coughing stopped and I could breathe again. After I felt better a few years past, I worked out here and there but I found myself 20 pounds overweight and felt miserable about it. In July 2008, my husband mentioned to me that I should train for a half

marathon. He ran one the year before and was going to run one again in the fall. 

I thought that he was crazy! You see, even though I no longer had asthma, I still worried that if I over did it, it would return. But I wanted to lose the weight and a race might do the trick. I accepted his challenge and decided to train. The first month killed me. But I persevered and with a lot of hard work I ran the whole 21 kilometre race with the worst chest cold I have had in years and finished the race five minutes faster than my goal time: asthma free. I feel healthier than I've felt my entire life. Through chiropractic, I know that I have found one of the keys to amazing health."

The sole purpose of telling you this story is to help you to understand that the power that allowed her to breathe normally again is the same power that is in you, but that power needs to get to each and every part of your body for you to be truly healthy, just like it did in Natacha.