10 Fascinating Facts About Your Spine (And What We Do About Them)

Your spine is incredible when you think about it.

It supports your entire body, protects your spinal cord, and allows you to move in countless ways—all while you barely think about it.

Until it hurts.

At Active Spine and Joint Institute, we geek out about spines daily. Here are some cool facts about your spine and how we keep it healthy.

1. Your Spine Has the Same Number of Curves as a Baby

A healthy adult spine has four curves: cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back), lumbar (low back), and sacral.

But here's the interesting part: babies are born with just two curves. The cervical and lumbar curves develop as they learn to lift their heads and walk.

How we help: When these curves are lost or exaggerated due to injury, poor posture, or degenerative changes, we use specific adjustments and corrective exercises to restore proper spinal alignment.

2. Your Discs Are 80% Water (When You're Young)

As you age, your discs lose hydration—dropping to as low as 70% water content. This is one reason you actually get shorter as you age.

Fun fact: You're taller in the morning than at night because gravity compresses your discs throughout the day.

How we help: Spinal decompression therapy creates negative pressure that draws water and nutrients back into dehydrated discs, promoting healing and rehydration.

3. Your Spine Has 33 Vertebrae... Sort of

You start with 33 vertebrae, but as you mature, the bottom 9 fuse together to form your sacrum and coccyx (tailbone).

That leaves 24 moveable vertebrae: 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, and 5 lumbar.

How we help: Each of those 24 moveable segments can become misaligned or restricted. We assess and adjust each level that needs it—not just where it hurts, but where the problem originates.

4. Your Spine Protects 31 Pairs of Nerves

These spinal nerves branch off from your spinal cord and control literally everything in your body: movement, sensation, organ function, immune response—all of it.

When vertebrae are misaligned, these nerves can get compressed or irritated.

How we help: By restoring proper spinal alignment, we take pressure off nerves, allowing your nervous system to function optimally. This is why some patients notice improvements in areas they didn't even come in for!

5. Sitting Is Really, Really Bad for Your Spine

Sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing.

And if you're slouching? Even worse. Poor sitting posture can put up to 200+ pounds of pressure on your lower back.

How we help: We evaluate your workstation setup and teach you proper ergonomics. We also provide exercises to counteract the effects of prolonged sitting and strengthen the muscles that support your spine.

6. Your Core Isn't Just Your Abs

When we talk about "core strength," we're not talking about six-pack abs.

Your core includes your abdominals, back muscles, pelvic floor, diaphragm, and hip muscles—all working together to stabilize your spine.

How we help: We prescribe specific exercises that target the deep stabilizing muscles of your core, not just the superficial ones you can see. This creates lasting stability and injury prevention.

7. You Produce About 25 Million Red Blood Cells Per Second

Where? In your bone marrow—including the marrow in your spine.

Your spine isn't just structural; it's literally producing the cells that keep you alive.

How we help: Proper spinal health supports overall body function. When your spine is properly aligned and moving smoothly, your entire body functions more effectively—including your immune function and healing capacity.

8. Your Spine Moves in Six Directions

Flexion (bending forward), extension (bending backward), lateral flexion (side bending left and right), and rotation (twisting left and right).

Loss of motion in any direction is a sign of dysfunction.

How we help: During your examination, we test all ranges of motion to identify restrictions. Our adjustments restore movement to stuck joints, and our exercises maintain that mobility.

9. Text Neck Is a Real (and Growing) Problem

For every inch your head moves forward, it adds 10 pounds of pressure on your spine.

When you're looking down at your phone (about 60-degree angle), that's 60 POUNDS of pressure on your neck.

No wonder we're seeing an epidemic of neck pain and headaches!

How we help: We provide specific cervical adjustments to restore the proper curve in your neck, plus postural training and exercises to counteract forward head posture.

10. Most Spine Problems Are Preventable

The majority of back and neck pain is caused by lifestyle factors: poor posture, weak muscles, repetitive stress, and lack of movement.

Very few spine problems are truly "just getting old."

How we help: At Active Spine and Joint Institute, we don't just treat pain—we prevent it. Through education, corrective exercises, and periodic maintenance care, we help you keep your spine healthy for life.

The Active Difference

We're not just chiropractors who crack your back and send you on your way.

We're movement specialists. Pain detectives. Health educators.

Every visit, we're:

• Restoring proper alignment and function

• Teaching you about your body

• Empowering you with tools to stay healthy

• Creating customized plans that fit YOUR life

• Celebrating your wins (even the small ones!)

Our goal? Get you better, keep you better, and help you understand how to maintain the results.

Your Spine Deserves Expert Care

You only get one spine. It's worth taking care of.

Whether you're dealing with pain right now or you want to prevent problems down the road, we're here to help.

Ready to experience the Active Spine and Joint Institute difference?

Call us at 609-886-8585or visit www.activesj.com to schedule your appointment.

Let's keep your spine healthy, strong, and pain-free for years to come.

Because life's too short to live it in pain.