The job your muscles stop doing
Muscles stay strong through demand. The moment an external structure, a brace, a belt, a splint, takes over the mechanical job of stabilising a joint or a spinal segment, the surrounding muscles receive a clear signal: you are not needed right now. They respond accordingly. This is not a flaw in muscle biology. It is exactly how the body conserves energy. The problem is that braces don't know when the emergency is over.
