Chiropractic Articles

Your Spine and Nervous System

Your nervous system controls and coordinates every function of your body. It is your nervous system that allows you to adapt to, and live in your environment. A large portion of your nervous system passes through your spine. It is your spinal cord that acts as the major cable exiting your brain, travels down inside your spinal column and branches off into spinal nerves at various levels of your spine.. These spinal nerves then exit between individual spinal vertebrae and go to the various parts of your body.

To be healthy it is essential that your nervous system function properly and free from any interference caused by subluxations. Subluxations can cause interference to the nervous system at any point along the spine where the nerves exit. This can adversely affect the function of various parts of your body, and ultimately your health. The chart below is designed to give you a look at just some of the relationships between the areas of your spine and your nervous system. Keep in mind that your nervous system is much more complex than can be shown here.

Click on an area of the spine below to see what portions of the body
are innervated by nerves from that area.

Area

Spine
(click image)

Nerve Supply

Upper Cervical Spine Upper Neck
C1 - C2
Head, face, upper neck, inner & middle ear, sympathetic nerve system, sinuses, eyes, auditory nerves and more.

Cervical Spine
Mid and Lower Neck
C3 - C7
Neck, shoulders, thyroid, tonsils, teeth, outer ear, nose, mouth, vocal cords, and more.

Thoracic Spine
Mid Back
T1 - T12
Arms, hands, heart, coronary arteries, esophagus, trachea, lungs, bronchial tubes, gallbladder, liver, stomach, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, ureters, adrenal glands, small intestines, and more.

Lumbar Spine
Lower Back
L1 - L5
Large intestines, appendix, abdomen, bladder, reproductive organs, lower back, lower extremities, ankles, feet, and more.

Sacrum and Coccyx
Basebone or Tailbone
Hip bones, tail bone, buttocks, rectum, anus, and more.