About the Spine

The lumbar spine consists mainly of the vertebrae or bone of the spine with a disc in between each bone. There are five lumbar vertebrae (referred to as L1-5). The main part of the vertebra is called the body and is located towards the front. The disc is located between the vertebral bodies. Each disc is referred to by the bones between which it sits. For example, the L4/5 disc is located between the L4 and L5 vertebral bodies.

Behind the vertebral bodies there is a ring of bone that contains the bottom of the spinal cord which ends at L1/2 and the nerve roots. The back of this ring is made of the lamina and spinous processes to which several muscles are attached. For most of the lumbar spine, there is a group of nerve roots which trail down from the bottom of the spinal cord. The nerve roots, which are surrounded by spinal fluid and which are enclosed in a sac called the dura, are referred to as the cauda equina which translates to ‘horse’s tail’. At each level a nerve root exits the spine through a hole between each bone called the intervertebral foramen. That nerve root will supply feeling (sensation) to an area and will also supply muscles that perform different movements.