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 | Nerve Supply |
Upper
Cervical Spine |
|
Head, face, upper neck, inner & middle ear, sympathetic nerve system, sinuses, eyes, auditory nerves and more. |
Cervical
Spine |
Neck, shoulders, thyroid, tonsils, teeth, outer ear, nose, mouth, vocal cords, and more. |
|
Thoracic
Spine |
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 |
Large intestines, appendix, abdomen, bladder, reproductive organs, lower back, lower extremities, ankles, feet, and more. |
|
Sacrum
and Coccyx |
Hip bones, tail bone, buttocks, rectum, anus, and more. |
