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Lumbar Anatomy

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Anatomy and back pain

The human spine is truly unique in its form and function. It is designed to be incredibly strong, protecting the highly sensitive nerve roots, yet highly flexible, providing for mobility on many different planes.  This flexibility, along with the many diverse demands we impose upon it, make it susceptible to various types and severity of injuries.

 

Many different structures in the spine are capable of producing back pain, including:

bulletThe large nerve roots that go to the legs and arms may be irritated
bulletThe smaller nerves that innervate the spine may be irritated
bulletThe large paired back muscles (erector spinae) may be strained
bulletThe bones, ligaments or joints themselves may be injured
bulletThe disc space itself can be a source of pain

Therefore, a review of spinal anatomy is important to understand the causes of back pain and evaluate treatment options. This section provides an overview of anatomical structures in the spine, including:

bulletVertebral bodies
bulletVertebral discs
bulletSpinal cord and nerve roots
bulletMuscles

The review includes the three major regions of the spine (Figure 1):

  1. Cervical spine (neck)
  2. Thoracic spine (upper back)
  3. Lumbar spine (lower back)

The sacrum is at the bottom of the spine and lies between the fifth lumbar segment and the coccyx (tailbone). The sacrum is a triangular-shaped bone and consists of five segments (S1 – S5) that are fused together and connect to the pelvis (ilium) and form joints called the sacroiliac joints.

 
 
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