Why is it always the little things that put my back out and not something big like moving a sofa?
In: Biology
It is difficult to generalize because there are so many different “little things”.
That said, you may not be bracing to lift things the same way. If you prepare to lift the end of a sofa or a heavy box, you probably take a breath and set the muscles in your abdomen. This helps maintain spinal rigidity and allows you to more efficiently lift loads with your hip and leg muscles. You also likely place your feet and bend your knees and hips a bit differently.
If you grab a small object that is unexpectedly heavy or awkwardly placed relative to your body, you might start lifting in a disadvantageous way and thereby load smaller muscles in your low back with more than they can suddenly handle — potentially enough to strain one or more of them.
This is why you hear things like “lift with your legs, not your back”, and it is also a large part of why people lifting heavy weight for sport (e.g. with loaded barbells) tend to take specific starting positions and emphasize deep breathing and deliberate bracing of core muscles to provide added stability and favorable leverage.
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