The back consists of the posterior aspect of the body.
It’s bony elements are mainly vertebrae, although ribs, pelvic bones and skull contribute to the back's skeletal framework too. Associated muscles and ligaments interconnect the vertebrae, ribs, pelvic and skull with each other.
This connection reveals why we, as a massage therapist, love to work through your gluteal muscles or hip flexors (even if you don't feel any pain) and have a closer look through your chest and front neck muscles (pectoralis muscles, scaleni, SCM to name a few) if you have back pain.
The curvature of the vertebral column is concave anteriorly in the thoracic and sacral region whereas in the cervical and lumbar region it is concave posteriorly. With this equal distribution the center of gravity is aligned, which is important for the body's weight balance. If the body's weight is centered on the vertebral column it will expend the least amount of muscular energy to maintain an upright bipedal stance.
To support your spine it is very important to train your posture as often as possible. This includes all trunk muscles but also your hip muscles to maintain your correct curvature.
The major bones of the back are 33 vertebrae. Our spine consists of seven cervical, twelve thoracic, five lumbar, five sacral (which fuse into a single bone, the sacrum) and three to four coccygeal vertebrae (often fused into a single coccyx).
A typical vertebra has a vertebral body and a vertebral arch.
The main purpose of the vertebral body.
Weight bearing: It carries the body weight. The more weight a vertebra has to carry the bigger its size which explains why a cervical vertebra is tiny and fragile in comparison to a lumbar vertebra.
The arch has a totally different task.
Protection: It forms the lateral and posterior walls of the vertebral canal which starts from the very first cervical vertebra (atlas) to the last sacral vertebra. It's a protection for the structures that are in this canal which are the spinal cord and its protective membranes, blood vessels, connective tissue, fat and spinal nerves
Attachments: for muscles and ligaments
Levers: for the action of muscles
Sites of articulation: with adjacent vertebrae
To keep your spine fully functional it's indispensable to use it.
If there is no stimuli or to little your body will slowly degenerate and get weaker and won't have the ability to react appropriately. It's a simple fact that if you don't use it you will lose it.
Why should your body keep up a function and waste energy and resources?
So go for a walk, run, exercise it doesn't matter which activity you prefer but move. The importance is that you give your spine different stimuli and therefore your body needs to adjust to it.