Spinal Column and Nervous System

Your spinal column or “backbone” is made up of 24 vertebrae: seven in your neck (cervical spine), 12 in your mid-back (thoracic spine) and 5 in your lower back (lumbar spine). Your spinal cord, made up of billions of nerves, lies inside your spinal column, protected on all sides by bone. Your spinal cord’s nerves branch out through openings between your vertebrae and connect to your internal organs, muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons and other body parts. This connection is vital for your well-being. Your nervous system controls and coordinates every function of your body.

It is your nervous system that allows you to adapt to, and live in your environment. A large portion of your nervous system passes through your spine. It is your spinal cord that acts as the major cable exiting your brain, travels down inside your spinal column and branches off into spinal nerves at various levels of your spine. These spinal nerves then exit between individual spinal vertebrae and go to the various parts of your body. To be healthy it is essential that your nervous system function properly and free from any interference caused by subluxations. Subluxations can cause interference to the nervous system at any point along the spine where the nerves exit. This can adversely affect the function of various parts of your body, and ultimately your health. The image below is designed to give you a simplified look at just some of the relationships between the areas of your spine and your nervous system.