Chronic Pain (cont.)
Appendix
Spine basics: the vertebrae, discs, and spinal cord
Stacked on top
of one another in the spine are more than 30 bones, the vertebrae, which
together form the spine. They are divided into four regions:
The vertebrae are linked by
ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Back pain can occur when, for example, someone
lifts something too heavy, causing a sprain, pull, strain, or spasm in one of
these muscles or ligaments in the back.
Between the vertebrae are round, spongy pads of cartilage called discs that
act much like shock absorbers. In many cases, degeneration or pressure from
overexertion can cause a disc to shift or protrude and bulge, causing pressure
on a nerve and resultant pain. When this happens, the condition is called a
slipped, bulging, herniated, or ruptured disc, and it sometimes results in
permanent nerve damage.
The column-like spinal cord is divided into segments similar to the
corresponding vertebrae: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal. The
cord also has nerve roots and rootlets which form branch-like appendages leading
from its ventral side (that is, the front of the body) and from its dorsal side
(that is, the back of the body). Along the dorsal root are the cells of the
dorsal root ganglia, which are critical in the transmission of "pain"
messages from the cord to the brain. It is here where injury, damage, and trauma
become pain.
Next: The nervous system »
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