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Page 1 of 5 Neck Problems and Chiropractic
Inside your neck are your neck bones (cervical vertebrae), spinal and cranial nerves, spinal cord, blood vessels, glands (including the thyroid and parathyroids), voicebox (larynx), esophagus, trachea, brainstem, and many muscles, ligaments and other structures. With all that it's still able to gracefully balance your head and turn, tilt and bend without damaging its vital "occupants." That's amazing because if your neck's functions are interrupted for even a few seconds you'd lose consciousness and begin to die.
The Cervical Spine
Cervix is the Latin word for neck meaning a constricted area (the uterus and urinary bladders have a neck or cervix too). Your seven small neck bones are called cervical vertebrae, numbered C-1 to C-7.
Inside your cervical vertebrae lies your spinal cord, a continuation of the brain down your neck and back. Protection of the spinal cord is extremely important because an injury to it can result in instant paralysis or death.
Your vertebrae are connected to each other by discs, ligaments and tendons that help give your neck its shape (the cervical curve). Between the vertebrae are openings where nerves, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, fat and connective tissues are found.
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