Back To Basics: What's The Spine?

23.09.2025

Thomas Moulson

Back to Basics: What’s the Spine?

Your Guide to Spinal Health and Back Pain Prevention

I grew up hearing two things about my spine: 1) that it’s fragile, and 2) that it’s vital—keeping you upright and transmitting signals from your brain to the rest of your body. To me (and granted, I’m no biology expert) those two truths didn’t make sense together. Evolution builds for resilience, so how can something so essential be so easily messed up?

It turns out: there’s truth on both sides. Your spine can get injured, discs can degenerate, and the spinal cord is vulnerable. But that doesn’t mean the spine as a whole is weak. It’s actually an impressive piece of engineering, but it’s one that works best when we understand how it’s built, what its limits are, and how to care for it.

The (Brief) Biology of The Spine

The spine is a complex system made up of many parts, each with a specialized role:

Vertebrae (the bones): Form the structural column, protect the spinal cord, and give attachment points for muscles.
Intervertebral discs (the cushions): Act as shock absorbers and allow flexibility for bending and twisting.
The spinal cord and branching nerves: Carry messages between the brain and body, controlling movement and sensation.

Anatomically, the spine is split into five regions, each with its own job:

Cervical (neck): Provides flexibility for head movement and houses nerves that control arms, hands, and diaphragm.
Thoracic (upper/mid back): Anchors the ribcage to protect the heart and lungs; more rigid for stability.
Lumbar (lower back): Bears most of the body’s weight and provides power for lifting, bending, and twisting.
Sacrum (pelvic base): Connects the spine to the pelvis, distributing weight into the hips and legs.
Coccyx (tailbone): Small but functional; supports pelvic floor muscles and helps with sitting balance.

So Why is the Spine So Fragile?…and Is It Really?

This is where my fears and confusion come in. That being that the spine is likely to break or wear out, easily, if you do anything wrong. But that isn’t the whole story. From research and expert sources:

Most people with back pain don’t have serious structural damage. Things like sprains, strains, or muscle imbalances are far more common than discs “slipping” out or bones being severely misaligned.
The spine’s vertebrae and discs are stabilized by ligaments and strong connective tissue—not loosely stacked blocks that can “fall out.” Terms like “slipped disc” can mislead and make people feel fragile when that’s not the case. (sycamorehealth.com.au)
The spinal cord inside is more delicate. Nerve tissue has limited ability to regenerate. Damage to the cord can have serious consequences because it’s part of the central nervous system. But note: that’s different from damage to vertebrae or discs. (Medium)

So yes, there are fragile components, and yes, certain kinds of damage are serious. But overall, your spine is built to bear the brunt of everyday living—when used well—and recover from those many stresses we put on it. But only when used properly, and cared for with the attention it deserves.

Why Your Back Hurts Sometimes

Modern life presents chronic loads and postures that evolution didn’t prepare us for. Some typical culprits:

Sitting too much, especially with poor posture
Repetitive forward head or rounded shoulder positions
Weak core/back support muscles, tight opposing muscles (hip flexors, chest)
Discs getting compressed unevenly over long periods
Joints becoming stiff because they aren’t moved through their full range

These create patterns of strain, not usually catastrophic damage—but enough to cause pain, stiffness, and dysfunction. Over time, stiff spinal joints act like rusty hinges—restricting movement and forcing other areas to compensate. That’s why loosening those stiff joints is such an important piece of spinal health. Tools like BackHug, designed to mobilize and “de-stiffen” your joints, can complement your daily movement and keep your back working the way it should.

How to Care for Your Spine—Properly

Here’s what helps, based on how the spine really works:

Move often: change postures, take breaks from sitting, walk, stretch.
Strength in the right places: core, back extensors, glutes—all help support the load.
Mobility matters: keep joints flexible, especially in thoracic and hip areas. If your joints are already feeling stiff, this is where targeted mobilization—whether from a physiotherapist or a device like BackHug—can help restore healthy movement.
Posture & load management: lift with legs, avoid twisting under load, position screens and workstations well.

The Takeaway

Your spine is a complex, evolved structure that balances strength, flexibility, and protection. It can be injured, but often the problem is how it’s used (or misused), not that it’s inherently fragile.

By treating it with respect—through movement, strength, mobility work, and sensible daily habits—you support what evolution has already set up for you. And while you can’t avoid every risk, you can greatly reduce them. For many people, adding regular joint loosening with BackHug provides the missing piece that helps all those other good habits work even better.