Cincinnati · Guide

A basement in a river town is a lifting problem

A city built on hills above a river is a city of basements, and a basement is only useful if you are willing to carry things down to it. In Cincinnati that often means an external or steep internal stairway rather than a gentle flight, and it means doing the carry in a confined space where you cannot really set your feet.

That combination is where a lot of ordinary backs get hurt, and it is almost never during the lift itself.

The turn is the risk, not the weight

Picking something up is a movement your body is well built for. Picking it up and rotating to get it through a doorway or around a landing is a different thing entirely, and the load on your lower back is much higher than the object's weight suggests.

Stairs make this worse because you cannot square your feet to what you are lifting. You end up twisting to see the next step while holding the weight away from your body.

• Turn your feet toward the load rather than twisting your torso to reach it.
• Make two trips. This is the least popular advice in this guide and the most effective.
• Put the heavy thing down at the landing rather than carrying it through the turn.

Damp and cold change the job

A basement is colder than the house. Muscles that have not warmed up are less forgiving of an awkward position, and most basement carrying happens at the start of a job rather than after any kind of warm up.

Spring and autumn are the risky weeks

The heavy carrying is seasonal. Storage in, storage out, and the same person doing a year's worth of lifting across one weekend.

When it is worth talking to somebody

Soreness after a weekend of carrying that fades over a few days is normal. Worth a conversation with a qualified provider: pain that came on suddenly during a lift, anything that travels down a leg, numbness or tingling, weakness in a leg or foot, or any loss of bladder or bowel control, which needs urgent care.

Top Local Chiropractors is a free local resource. We are not a healthcare provider and nothing here is medical advice. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.