But here’s what most people aren’t told: Those same small nerves don’t just carry pain signals. They also provide input to critical stabilizing muscles of your spine—particularly the multifidus muscles. These deep muscles form a core part of your spine’s functional stability system. When they atrophy, the architecture of your spine weakens, leaving you vulnerable to progressive degeneration, instability, and worsening pain over time. This isn’t theoretical. We now have clear