Know Your Thoracic Spine

The thoracic spine is the middle part of the spine and connects the cervical spine to the lumbar spine. While the cervical spine provides flexibility to the neck and head region and the lumbar spine gives power and flexibility to the lower part of the body, the thoracic spine is mainly for providing stability. The stability given by the thoracic spine makes us stay upright and also provides protection to the important organs in the chest. There are a lot of features that distinguishes the thoracic spine from the cervical and the lumbar spine:

Flexibility Is Limited-

 Each of the vertebra of the thoracic spine is connected to the bones of the rib cage. The first ten vertebrae of the thoracic spine have the rib bones attached on both sides of it which curve forward and meet infront of the chest. They provide stability as well as protect the vital organs such as the lungs, heart, liver etc. The last two vertebrae have rib bones which do not attach in front to the sternum. As this part of the back has less stability it is more prone to the problems which cause pain.

Intervertebral Discs Are Thinner- 

Each of the vertebra has a spongy pad in-between them which are great shock absorbers. They are known as intervertebral discs. These discs in the thoracic are quite thinner than the discs present in the cervical spine or the lower spine. Despite of having thinner discs, disc problems are quite rare in the thoracic region because of the limited flexibility in the area.

Spinal Canal Is Narrower- 

The spinal cord passes through a hollow space present in the vertebrae of the cervical and the thoracic spine. This is called the spinal canal. The canal gets narrower in the thoracic region so if this part of the vertebra gets damaged the spinal cord can get greatly damaged.