The spine contains of a number of vertebrae. As an early fetus we have 7 neck vertebrae, 12 breast vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, 3 sacral vertebrae and 4 tale vertebrae. Later the sacral vertebrae grows together and becomes the sacrum and the tale vertebrae grows together and becomes the coccyx (the tale bone). The construction of the spine is important for movement of the chest, the neck and the head. The spine also consists of 4 curvatures. The three first curvatures (counting from the neck and down), is important for the spines ability to act as a spring and when it is burdened with the weight, it gives after better than if the spine would have been straight. The last curvature is mostly important for women that gives birth. The curvatures develops as we grow as small children and lift our head and then rise and stand up.

The vertebrae contains the vertebral body and the vertebral arch and the vertebral bodies are connected with so called intervertebral discs. The discs consists of a soft mass that are surrounded by a ring of fibrocartilage. This admits some spring movement and small movements between the vertebraes. The bone marrow and the roots of the nerves is situated inside a vertebrae canal, that is surronded by the vertebrae arches. The muscles and ligaments are fastened in the vertebral arches processes.

If we look at the vertebraes, the two vertebraes at the top looks a bit different than the others. The atlas/C1 is the top vertebrae and the vertebrae that the head rests on. The atlas has no vertebral body and is formed as a ring. The vertebral body that belonged to atlas grows, during fetus growth, together with the next vertebrae, which is axis/C2. Due to this, axis has a tooth like process that goes up into atlas and is held in place by a sturdy ligament.

Skoliosis is when the spine is bent to one side and can appear if the vertebrae is bent or if the legs are of different length.

With cranio sacral therapy I have, during 5 years, treated my mother for her bent spine. Her spine went every direction it culd, she was in pain, there was a 4 cm difference between her sides and she could not get her head down on the ground lying down. After about 2,5 years wit treatment once a month, her spine was considerably straighter and she could get her head down on the ground. After 5 years, there are a little bit left to straighten, but she is no longer in pain and she walks straighter. As a bonus, her problems with her intestines has improved dramatically and her once white hair is starting to turn black again. I asked my former hair dresser if it really is possible to get your hair colour back once it has turned all white. She said that when the body have circulation problems, the first thing it does is to turn off the nourishment to the dead material, like the hair, and as the circulation improves it can get nourishment back to the hair again. To see my moms development has only made me more interested to understand the body.