How Many Discs Are In Your Spine

Your spinal cord is a very important part of your body. Without your spine, you will not be able to move and feel things. Damage to the spinal cord can make you paralyzed and immobile. It is very important that you take care of your spinal cord all the time. To help you start caring for it, you should first learn its structure.

Do you know how many discs are there in your spine? In total, there are 23 discs. However, there's more to that number that you should know.

You need to know that the discs have two parts - an outer part and soft inner core. The other part is very tough and it protects the disc from being damaged. It is composed of collagen fibers that form a circular shape. The inner core is a very sensitive area which is composed mainly of gel. It contains a lot of nerve fibers that help in sending signals to and from the brain.

Your spinal cord has two main divisions - cervical and lumbar. These two divisions are composed of nerve roots that are essential for most actions of the body. The cervical spine has never roots that are situated along the neck area and the upper part of the spine. The lumbar spine, on the other hand, has never roots that run along the lower part of the spine to the lower back area of the body.

As mentioned earlier, the spine consists of 23 discs. Six of them are located in the cervical region while 12 are located in the thoracic region. The thoracic region is the middle area of the spine that runs below the neck to the middle back. The other 5 discs are located in the lumbar region.

Each disc in your spinal cord has 3 basic components. The first component is the nucleus pulposus. This contains nerves that relay pain reflexes. This means that when you feel pain from heat or an injury, this part of your disc will help relay that information. The second and third components are the annulus fibrosus and the vertebral plates. They are generally composed of water and collagen. They also have considerable amount of protein and other gel-like substances.

Your spinal discs can be found between each vertebra. The spinal cord needs to be flexible in order for you to bend you back forward and backward. If the spine is just a one-piece bone, it will be difficult for you to move it around. However, because of the discs located in each vertebra, you spine becomes moveable and less vulnerable to damage and breakage.

It is very important to take care of your spinal cord to avoid any spinal injury. These spinal injuries are bulging discs and compressed spine injury. In the case of the bulging discs, the outer part of the disc is damaged and the gel-like substance in the inner core leaks out. This causes the disc to be bigger therefore it appears bulged. This can bring pain when the nerves feel pressure.