Spine Education
Patient Spine Guide
The spine is divided into five main sections that affect movement, posture, nerve communication, and whole-body health.
Identify
5 spinal sections
Connect
Nerves and motion
Learn
Role of each region
Support
Better spinal health
Click each spinal section below to learn the role it plays in your overall health.
Cervical
Neck motion, headaches, shoulder tension
Thoracic
Rib motion, posture, breathing mechanics
Lumbar
Low back support, hips, leg referral patterns
Sacrum
Pelvic balance and lower body load
Coccyx
Base support and seated comfort
Clinical Context
Misalignment can create symptoms away from the spine, so education starts with the full structure.
Each section of the spine has a different job, a different range of motion, and a different set of nerves running out of it. Knowing which region a symptom belongs to is usually the first step in understanding why it is happening.
The cervical spine is the seven vertebrae of the neck, running from the base of the skull to the top of the shoulders. It is the most mobile part of the spine — it carries the weight of the head while allowing you to nod, rotate and tilt. Nerves exiting this region travel into the head, shoulders and arms, which is why neck problems are often felt somewhere else entirely.
Related: Neck Pain, Headaches & Migraines, Arm Pain
The thoracic spine is the twelve vertebrae of the mid back, each connected to a pair of ribs. That rib attachment makes it the least mobile region of the spine and the most structural — it protects the heart and lungs and anchors your posture. Because it moves less, stiffness here often shows up as restricted breathing or as strain passed along to the neck and low back.
Related: Tech Neck & Posture, Shoulder Pain
The lumbar spine is the five largest vertebrae in the body, carrying most of your weight and absorbing the load from lifting, bending and twisting. The discs here are the thickest in the spine, and the nerve roots leaving this region form the sciatic nerve — which is why a lumbar problem is frequently felt down the buttock and leg rather than in the back itself.
Related: Back Pain, Sciatica, Disc Injury
The sacrum is a triangular bone formed from five vertebrae that fuse during adolescence. It wedges between the two halves of the pelvis at the sacroiliac joints and transfers the load of the upper body into the hips and legs. Because it is the junction between spine and pelvis, imbalance here can change how you stand and walk.
The coccyx, or tailbone, is the small set of three to five fused segments at the very base of the spine. It is not weight-bearing when you stand, but it forms part of the tripod you rest on when seated and provides an attachment point for pelvic floor muscles and ligaments.
This page describes spinal anatomy for general education. It is not a diagnosis. If you have symptoms you are concerned about, see one of our doctors or your physician.
