Why is lifting items “with your back” dangerous? Why can’t back muscles be strengthened?
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As some have mentioned, proper technique minimizes damaging vertebral discs (rubbery discs between each bone in the spine) but also you minimize damage to the muscles that allow movement and spinal support. Unfortunately, back muscles are relatively small and weak (biceps vs thumb muscles would be analogous to legs vs back muscles). So, lifting heavy objects with small muscles invites injury.
Also, rotation can have a huge impact on how forces are distributed and absorbed (or not). Lifting with your back, you can introduce a rotational movement while picking up or carrying. If lifting with legs, hopefully keeping that in the front of your mind reduces any tendency to rotate your spine and instead use legs and hip girdle to rotate.
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