The Lumbar Spine

The Lumbar Spine is the part of your spine commonly referred to as your "lower back".  It consists of five large vertebrae, (L1 - L5). Although this is an area of the spine that many people recognize when they think of pain, the nerves that exit this portion of the spine have responsibilities for vital body functions.  This area of your spine has the largest and strongest vertebrae and some of the largest muscles supporting it.

The nerves that exit from these areas are large and control some very large muscles.  These muscles include the large and small muscles of the lower back, the muscles of the thigh, legs, calf muscles, and  feet. The sciatic nerve has its origin from the nerves that exit from the lumbar spine.  In addition to the muscles, many joints in this area are also supplied by nerves from the lumbar spine including the hips, knees, ankles and feet.