Your back is an intricate network of muscles, ligaments, discs, and nerves. It’s a delicate system with a big job. Your back carries most of your body’s weight and supports your spinal column, the main pathway of your nerve system.

Vertebrae – small bones called vertebrae form your spine. Your spine supports your head and trunk, makes your body flexible and protects your spinal cord. There are five types of vertebrae:

-seven small, flexible cervical vertebrae support your skull and neck.

-your chest cavity is formed by 24 ribs extending from 12 thoracic vertebrae.

-the five lumbar vertebrae are the largest and carry most of your body weight.

-five fused vertebrae below your lumbar vertebrae form the sacrum.

-fused vertebrae form the coccyx, or tailbone.

Discs– in between you vertebrae are shock absorbers called discs. discs have a strong outer casing with a pliable jelly-like substance inside.

Spinal Cord– your spinal chord, with your brain, forms your central nervous system. It’s about 18 inches long and a half inch thick. It runs through your canal in your vertebrae.

Nerves– about 31 pairs of nerves branch out from your spinal cord and travel throughout the body. These nerves carry commands to your organs, muscles, and relay messages about touch, temperature, and pain.

Muscles– Some 400 muscles work together to keep your spine steady, maintain your posture and help you move.

Tendons– More than 1,000 tendons connect muscles to your bones.

Ligaments– Bands of tissue between your bones support your back and keep it from moving more than it should.

Your Supporting Role
Your back supports you in everything you do. Your role is to support your back by using good posture, exercise, and body mechanics to keep it strong, flexible, and balanced.

 Your Spine
Hardly any of us has escaped occasional back pain. For some it’s the sharp pain of a sudden injury; for others it’s a dull nagging ache that seems to never go away . Injury, misuse and the aging process can lead to spinal problems that cause pain, stiffness, tingling or numbness in your back. 

Understanding your back
Your spine- it starts with an “S”to understand what causes spinal problems, you must understand how your spine works. The bones of your spine, called vertebrae, are separated by small shock-absorbing discs. Rather than forming a straight column, they form three curves balanced one above the other. Muscles in your back, abdomen, and legs help keep your spine in its natural S- Shape. This position distributes your body weight evenly to protect your vertebrae and discs from injury and wear.

Poor Posture Hurts
Improper posture- such as slouching with your shoulders slumped and your head forward or standing in a swayback position puts stress on your spine and causes the vertebrae and discs to move out of the balanced position. Too much forward bending and excessive backward bending (swayback) can speed the aging process of your vertebrae and discs, leading to rupture disc, arthritis and instability.

Disc Details
-Your discs have a soft center called the nucleus, surrounded by a series of though outer rings called the annulus.
-Over time, your discs lose moisture and elasticity, so its harder for them to bounce back into place.
-Discs can’t really “slip”, but swelling or years of poor posture can leave them sticking out from between the vertebrae. the vertebrae squeeze the buldging disc and cause pain