Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] I have lower back pain resultibng from a degenerated disc between 4th & 5th vertebraes resulting in the 5th sticking out at an angle.  I hunch that a nerve is being disturbed and my excretory system affected.  In order that I can better understand what is going on can you please show me how these three systems are interconnected.
[|AI|]  HI, Thanks for writing in. To understand the origin of back pain and its connections, you have to know a little about the structures present. The lower back spine is known as lumbar and sacral spine and the coccyx or tail bone. The lumbar spine consists of 5 small bones aligned on top of each other and are separated by small discs which are made of soft material. The sacrum consists of 5 small segments.  There are no discs between the sacral segments, and they are fused with each other. Nerves come out from the spinal cord through small holes between the small bones. These holes are known as foramen. When the disc between two bones degenerated (L4 and L 5 in you), the 5th nerve is compressed at the foramen and there is nerve root compression. This nerve root compression gives rise to lower back pain and excretory problems. It is most often due to pressure effects and may return to normal when pressure is released. Hope this helps