Heal Low Back Pain with FAST™

Low back pain can color every part of your day. It shows up when you’re trying to work, when you stand up after sitting too long, when you’re cooking dinner, or even when you’re trying to rest. For many people, it starts with a mild ache that gradually becomes stiffness, sharp pain, or radiating discomfort that limits how they move and what they can do.

At New Dawn Acupuncture, I use a modern, integrative approach rooted in the FAST™ method to reduce inflammation, restore mobility, and heal the deeper soft-tissue dysfunction that keeps low back pain coming back. When we treat the structural cause instead of chasing symptoms, your back finally gets the chance to repair and stabilize.

If you’re ready to feel better and reclaim your mobility, call (202) 538-3995 to book your appointment today.

Why Low Back Pain Is So Common

No matter what originally triggers low back pain, soft tissue – muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves – is almost always involved. In chronic cases, soft tissue dysfunction becomes the main source of ongoing pain.

Low back pain often develops from misaligned posture, decreased flexibility, and repetitive movements that create muscle imbalances and shifts in the pelvis. When this happens, the alignment of the lower spine changes. Soft tissues are then strained, overworked, and irritated – eventually leading to inflammation and pain.

Pain can be local or diffuse. Some patients feel discomfort that moves from one spot to another, often more intense on one side. Repetitive habits like constantly twisting in the same direction at a desk or sitting for long periods are common contributors.

Typical pain locations include:

• Under the rib cage
• Either side of the spine above the hip bones
• The sacrum
• The buttocks and down the leg (sciatic-type pain)

Some patients also feel pain from fascia connecting the hip bones and spine, often described as a hard, stiff rope running across the low back.

Disc Degeneration, Nerve Impingement & Sciatica

As discs lose hydration and height over time, they can irritate the surrounding soft tissues and sometimes impinge nearby nerves. This can lead to sciatica, numbness, tingling, or radiating pain extending down the leg or into the feet.

Spondylosis – age-related degeneration of the vertebrae – can also affect the tissues around the spine. The discs at L4/L5 and L5/S1 endure the greatest stress in the body and are therefore the most likely to degenerate and produce symptoms. Many people have mild degeneration for years without pain, until one simple movement – bending over, twisting, picking up something small – causes a sudden flare-up.

How We Treat Low Back Pain

Acupuncture is highly effective at reducing pain, relaxing tight muscles, increasing range of motion, and calming inflammation. It also helps the body release endorphins – your natural pain-relief chemicals – which support both comfort and healing.

To accelerate recovery, I integrate techniques from the FAST™ method, which blends traditional acupuncture with modern tools to treat soft tissue at the structural level.

FAST™ is specifically designed to address chronic soft-tissue dysfunction – scar tissue, micro-tears, adhesions, and nerve irritation – the very issues most standard treatments overlook.

A Better Approach to Your Back Pain

Your healing starts with listening – understanding your history, your symptoms, your goals, and what this pain has taken from your life. From there, we build a clear and realistic treatment plan that respects your time and focuses on meaningful, lasting results. 

If your low back pain has been holding you back, keeping you stiff, or making you cautious, you don’t have to keep waiting for it to change on its own.