5 Secrets You Should Know About Your Spine

Unless you studied anatomy in school, you might not know too much about the spine. Your spine runs from the base of your skull to your pelvis and supports your body weight while protecting your spinal cord. I personally think the spine is awesome, which is one of the many reasons I became a chiropractor. But spine nerdy-ness aside, there are some awesome little known facts about your spine that I wanted to share with you:

1. If your spine didn't curve it wouldn't be nearly as strong

Think of "bend not break." Your spine's curvature is what makes it strong enough to support your body. There are three natural curves in your spine which give it an S shape when viewed from the side. These curves allow the spine to withstand extreme amounts of stress by providing an even distribution of body weight.

2. Your spine protects your nervous system

Your spine's most important job is to protect your nervous system. Your backbone surrounds the nervous system and protects it whenever you get into accidents.

3. Spines "Shrink" As We Age

It's true the people shrink when they get older. This is because, as we age, the space between our spinal discs gets smaller. 

4. Your Tailbone is Named After a Bird

The proper name for your tailbone is the coccyx. Your coccyx was so named because it resembles a cuckoo bird.

5. We're born with more spinal bones 

Humans are born with 33 spinal bones but end up with 26 as adults. When we're born the sacral and coccyx bones are separate, but fuse together as we grow.

I could spend all day writing about the awesome things your spine does for your body, but these are my top 5 that I wanted to share with you all. If you want to keep your spine healthy, make sure to visit us regularly for adjustments!