Region

Lumbar spine

Pars lumbalis columnae vertebralis

The lumbar spine is the five large vertebrae of the lower back, built to carry load and to bend forward and back, sitting between a stiff ribcage above and a fixed pelvis below. It is braced by the erector spinae and multifidus behind and quadratus lumborum at the sides, and the nerves that run the whole leg leave the spine here. People come to a therapist for the lower back more than for anywhere else — for stiffness and pain bending or lifting, ache after long sitting or standing, and pain that travels down into the buttock or leg.