Chronic Pain (cont.)

Stacked on top of one another in the spine are more than 30 bones, the vertebrae, which together form the spine. They are divided into four regions:

• the seven cervical or neck vertebrae (labeled C1-C7),
• the 12 thoracic or upper back vertebrae (labeled T1-T12),
• the five lumbar vertebrae (labeled L1-L5), which we know as the lower back, and
• the sacrum and coccyx, a group of bones fused together at the base of the spine.

The vertebrae are linked by ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Back pain can occur when, for example, someone lifts something too heavy, causing a sprain, pull, strain, or spasm in one of these muscles or ligaments in the back.

Between the vertebrae are round, spongy pads of cartilage called discs that act much like shock absorbers. In many cases, degeneration or pressure from overexertion can cause a disc to shift or protrude and bulge, causing pressure on a nerve and resultant pain. When this happens, the condition is called a slipped, bulging, herniated, or ruptured disc, and it sometimes results in permanent nerve damage.

The column -- like spinal cord is divided into segments similar to the corresponding vertebrae: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal. The cord also has nerve roots and rootlets which form branch-like appendages leading from its ventral side (that is, the front of the body) and from its dorsal side (that is, the back of the body). Along the dorsal root are the cells of the dorsal root ganglia, which are critical in the transmission of "pain" messages from the cord to the brain. It is here where injury, damage, and trauma become pain.

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/chronic_pain/article.htm