Low Back Pain: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment Options in Northern New Jersey
Back pain can hit you all at once, like when you lift something heavy the wrong way. Or it can creep up slowly, from sitting too long at a desk or just wearing your body down over time.
It's one of the most common reasons people visit a doctor. In fact, about 8 out of 10 adults will deal with low back pain at some point in their life, and it's the number one cause of disability worldwide.
If you're in Northern New Jersey and asking yourself, "why does my back hurt?", you're in the right place. Below, I break down the most common causes of back pain, simple ways to prevent it, and when it's time to come see a specialist.
Who Gets Back Pain the Most?
Back pain can happen to anyone, but we tend to see two main groups of patients.
Ages 30–50: This group is usually made up of office workers who sit for hours at a time, day after day, year after year. All that sitting throws the muscles in your lower back, hips, and core out of balance.
Once those muscles get irritated, even small things — tying your shoes, bending to grab a bag — can trigger days or weeks of pain. The good news is this is very fixable. With hands-on treatment, the right at-home exercises, and some simple changes to how you sit and work, these muscles can be retrained.
Ages 70+: This group usually has arthritis in the low back, also called wear-and-tear, degenerative disc disease, or "spondylosis". Most of these patients have been managing fine for years, but at some point the body simply runs out of reserve, and the pain becomes more frequent.
Years of sitting, plus old injuries that were never fully treated, tend to catch up all at once. The encouraging news here too: many patients in this group just have some stiffness and limited movement, not constant pain. A good exam can tell the difference.
What Causes Back Pain?
Your body handles stress in two ways: quick, one-time stress (like lifting weights) and slow, ongoing stress (like sitting hunched over a laptop every day).
One-time stress on a muscle causes tiny tears that heal back stronger. It might hurt for a bit, but the muscle ends up better off.
Ongoing stress on things like cartilage, ligaments, and the tissue that wraps your muscles (called fascia) causes inflammation and slow breakdown. This kind of stress usually just leads to more pain, with no upside.
Everyone's back pain is a little different, based on which tissues are affected and how. Your posture also plays a huge role. It decides how much strain gravity puts on your back every single day.
Can an Old Injury Still Be Causing Your Pain?
Most people assume a new event caused their back pain, like sleeping wrong, a bad mattress, a new workout. But often, the real story is an old injury that never fully healed.
These lingering issues usually don't show up on an X-ray or MRI, because the problem is happening at the level of how your tissue functions, not something you can see in a picture. Just because an old injury is invisible on a scan doesn't mean it's gone. Left untreated, old injuries tend to create bad habits in how you move, and those habits can eventually turn into chronic pain.
Can Back Pain Come Back After a Hip or Knee Replacement?
Yes — after a joint replacement, the muscles and joints above and below the replacement take on more wear-and-tear.
For example: if you've had right-sided low back pain for years, you've probably been shifting extra weight onto your left leg without realizing it. Over time, that extra strain can wear down your left knee. You can replace the knee and do all the rehab in the world, but if the original back pain isn't addressed, that same knee problem is likely to come back.
Sometimes a patient has issues in both the back and hip at the same time. Your brain tends to focus on whichever problem is loudest, so once the hip is fixed, the back pain that was there the whole time suddenly becomes noticeable. It can feel like the back pain "started" after surgery, when really, it was there all along.
What Kind of Back Pain Do You Have?
There are actually more than 20 different reasons for low back pain. Unfortunately, many doctors don't dig into the specifics and just label it "nonspecific back pain," which doesn't tell you much.
If you're not sure what's going on, you have two options: see a specialist for a proper evaluation, or try a general exercise routine for 2–4 weeks and see how your body responds. Most patients who come to Paragon Osteopathy actually have two or more things contributing to their pain at once. We treat the most recent cause first, then usually uncover an older issue underneath it. If progress stalls, an ultrasound or MRI can help confirm what's going on.
How to Deal With Back Pain That Keeps Coming Back
Recurring back pain is often caused by weak or unstable core muscles — your abs, obliques, deep core muscles, and glutes. These muscles lose strength when you sit for long periods, or during pregnancy, when the abdominal muscles stretch and the growing uterus puts pressure on the pelvic floor.
Ways to rebuild that stability at home:
Planks
Pelvic tilts
Ab draw-ins
Double leg lifts
Sit-backs
Kegel exercises (great for pelvic floor support)
If you've been doing these for 2–4 weeks without much improvement, or you'd rather just get relief faster, it's time to see a physical therapist or osteopathic specialist near you.
What's the Best Position to Avoid Back Pain?
There isn't one perfect position to hold all day. Your body is built to move. The best approach is switching between sitting and standing roughly every 30 minutes.
When you do sit, make sure:
Your back is fully against the chair, with support for both your lower back and neck
Your feet are flat on the floor
Your elbows rest comfortably at your sides
The same posture rules apply when you're driving, so take a minute to adjust your car seat too.
Setting Up a Back-Friendly Home or Office Workspace
A few tools that make a real difference:
Footrest
Chair with neck support
Keyboard tray
Ergonomic mouse (thumb pointed up, not sideways)
Sit-to-stand desk
And a few quick habits:
Keep the top of your monitor at eye level.
Pull your chair in close to your desk.
Let the chair support your back and neck — don't fight it.
Set a reminder every 30 minutes to stand and move for 30 seconds.
I’ve written a free guide to help professionals set up a more ergonomic office to stay healthy and avoid pain. You can get the guide here.
Simple Ways to Relieve Back Pain at Home
Along with the core exercises above, gentle, steady pressure on sore spots can help your muscles relax instead of tensing up. Slow, constant pressure tends to work better than rubbing back and forth. A soft surface (like a carpet or bed) and a soft tool (like a racquet ball rather than a golf ball) usually feel best until your muscles can handle more pressure.
Other things that can help:
Warm Epsom salt baths for ongoing pain
Ice for 10 minutes, 2–3 times a day for new, sharp pain
Mindfulness meditation
Topical creams with menthol or NSAIDs (like diclofenac)
When to See a Back Pain Specialist in Northern New Jersey
Nearly everyone deals with back pain at some point. The key is catching it early and treating it properly, before it leads to bigger problems down the road.
If you're located in Parsippany or Northern New Jersey and you're dealing with back pain that hasn't improved with rest or home exercises, Paragon Osteopathy is here to help. We offer hands-on evaluation and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) to find the real cause of your pain, not just a generic diagnosis.
Book a free consultation with Dr. Razvi to get started.
