Parts of the Spine

Today, I want to introduce you to the parts of the spine!  Specifically, we call them regions of the spine and they are broken up into a few areas. 

First of all we have the cervical spine, this is the area that includes the neck.  On top of the cervical spine our skull rests.  Alot of my patients that have headaches have pain that can originate from this area.  In the cervical spine we have seven vertebra. We also have two very unique vertebra at the top of the cervical spine and these are called the atlas and the axis.

Next we have the thoracic spine.  It is easy to remember where this area is due to our ribs.  Our thoracic spine articulate (or connect) to our ribs.  We have 12 thoracic vertebra.  A lot of times my patients have rib pain or shoulder pain and this can originate from the thoracic spine or the mid back.

Next we have the lumbar spine.  This is most commonly called the low back.  We have 5 vertebra in our low back or in the lumbar spine.   My patients commonly have hip pain or sciatic like pain that can origianate form the lumbar spine.

Below the lumbar spine we have our sacrum, and our coccyx.  This area is also a part of our spine and is  commonly known as our tailbone.  A lot of times my patient have hip or tailbone pain that can originate from this area.

Thie above is just a primer to help educate you about the different regions of the spine.  I hope this helps the next time you are wondering about what parts make up our spines!