The cervical spine is in your neck and consists of 7 bones, each with a diameter about that of the top of a soda can, (commonly labeled C1-C7). These sit directly under your skull and protect the spinal cord as it exits the brain and travels to the body. They are separated by small puck-like structures known as the intervertebral discs (the C5-6 disc is the disc between C5 and C6). They allow your neck to move up and down as well as bend and rotate from side to side. Most of the motion in your neck comes from the upper part of your cervical spine, namely C1 and C2, with 40% of your bending and rotating ability also coming from these levels.

The neck is amazing because it allows you to look around in a wide field of view. However, because there is so much motion it also prone to breakdown.

Common conditions of the cervical spine are:

-Cervical radiculopathy: A condition where a cervical nerve becomes pinched causing pain, numbness and weakness radiating down one or both arms.

-Cervical myelopathy: A condition where the spinal cord is pinched or compressed and results in symptoms of imbalance, incontinence, hand clumsiness, numbness and pain.

-Degenerative disc disease: Wearing out of the cervical intervertebral discs resulting in neck pain and the two conditions listed above.