The Lower Back Pain Toolkit
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Lumbar Spine Discs and Spinal Cord
Discs
The bones in your spine are very strong and rarely break. The discs are also very tough structures; the outer area, the annulus, is made up of circular rings of strong, elastic tissue called cartilage. If you look at a disc from above with a microscope it looks a bit like a tree trunk cut in half, circular rings moving outward from the center. In the middle of the disc is a slightly softer area called the nucleus.
X-Ray film of a lumbar spine - side view
The discs are firmly attached to both the vertebra above and below. In the lower back the lumbar discs are fatter and larger than elsewhere in the spine, helping them to act as very good ‘shock absorbers’ between the different vertebrae.
Diagram of a spinal segment
Although many people use the term ‘slipped disc’ in fact the disc cannot slip anywhere as it is solidly fixed.
The Spinal Cord and Nerve Roots
The spinal cord is a vital structure that runs from your brain to the lower back. A very important part of the vertebrae’s job is to protect the spinal cord; it does this by encircling the cord in a bony canal, this means the cord is safely enclosed by the protective structures of the spine. There is a space on each side, between each vertebra, that allows a nerve, called a nerve root, to leave the spinal cord.
These nerve roots bundle together to form single large nerves, such as the sciatic nerve.
The spine is a strong, beautifully designed structure that allows movement whilst at the same time protecting the spinal cord. It is not fragile or vulnerable – no more so than any other structure in the body – provided it is kept fit and healthy.
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