The thoracic spine is in your upper back and consists of 12 medium-sized bones (commonly labeled T1-T12) and are unique in that they are attached to your ribs. This is important because the rib cage is a rigid structure and thus these bones do not bend or twist as much as either the cervical or lumbar vertebrae.  Hence only a fraction of your upper body motion comes from your thoracic spine and it is rare to develop arthritic conditions in this area. 

Common problems in the thoracic spine include:

-Fractures: because of its rigid nature, the thoracic spine is a common place for fractures (breaks in the bone) to occur. These can result in pain and possibly even spinal cord compression with symptoms of weakness and numbness in the legs.

-Thoracic Myelopathy: A condition where narrowing of the spinal canal in the thoracic spine results in spinal cord compression. This is commonly caused by spinal degeneration and disc herniation.

-Deformity and Scoliosis: A condition where there is an angular change to the thoracic spine resulting in kinks in the spine and deformity of the trunk.