Acupuncture has been used for centuries to treat acute and chronic injuries from intense or repetitive physical activity but has only recently worked its way into mainstream competitive sports. It is now recognized by the National Institute of Health as an acceptable form of treatment for pain and many professional sports teams have acupuncturists on staff to speed up recovery times and resolve stubborn injuries. It was, and still is, one of the primary means of quick healing for the martial arts. When a person gets injured the most common complaint is pain. Pain can be described in a number of ways. A dull ache would typically indicate a muscular injury, like a strain. A sharp pain typically indicates tendon or ligament injury and a numbness/tingling type of pain normally indicates a type of nerve injury. Can acupuncture help with all types of pain? The answer is YES! When an injury, no matter what type, occurs in the body there is an excess of metabolic waste that is in the area due the bodies natural inflammatory response. The build-up of waste and toxins in the injured area causes there to be a stagnation and the meridians, that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) work within get blocked. The energy or qi (pronounced “chee”) that is so important to keep our body balanced and healthy is obstructed and therefore everything around that area is also obstructed and nothing can move freely hence the feeling of pain and loss of function.
So how does Acupuncture help with these obstructions? The insertion of fine needles into specific acupuncture points on the body helps to stimulate the clearing of these obstructions by warming up the channels and bringing awareness to the area to promote healing. For acute pain, like an ankle sprain, acupuncture will help keep the meridians open to ensure healthy blood flow and energy can reach the injury. For a chronic pain, like Osteoarthritis, acupuncture will have to work through the already existing build-up to re-open those channels. A TCM practitioner might say that the body has a dampness or coldness to it when dealing with chronic pain. This is because when dealing with long term pain there is an accumulation of waste and very little energy flowing through that area. That is why when dealing with chronic pain it can take months of regular treatments before you feel any real results. The key is to stick with it and ensure your treatments are frequent and consistent. It took years for your body to get to this state so bringing it back to balanced won’t happen overnight and being patient will be your best friend.
The recovery process from an injury can be greatly sped up by the use of acupuncture as it helps to open up the channels and remove all the metabolic waste and fluid from the injured area. This allows the healing process to occur and gives the joint the ability to move more freely. In TCM it is believed that injury occurs due to a lack of nutrients to an area therefore the area tightens up, build-up of waste occurs and the energy gets stuck. Therefore, healthy blood flow can’t get in to the injured site for it to heal properly. Unlike most other modalities that are used for injuries, where the focus is more on creating blood flow through the tissue. Acupuncture is unique in that it focuses on bringing blood flow through the meridians AND the tissue to the injured site. It is important to recognize that clearing of both of these channels is vital to healing an injury and returning to sport. In recent studies, it has been shown that acupuncture not only effectively treats sports injuries such as ankle sprains, strains, golfers elbow, hip pain, low back, shin splints and shoulder pain but it has been proven to improve performance and give athletes a competitive edge. All the more reason to make acupuncture an integral part of your healthcare plan!
So how does Acupuncture help with these obstructions? The insertion of fine needles into specific acupuncture points on the body helps to stimulate the clearing of these obstructions by warming up the channels and bringing awareness to the area to promote healing. For acute pain, like an ankle sprain, acupuncture will help keep the meridians open to ensure healthy blood flow and energy can reach the injury. For a chronic pain, like Osteoarthritis, acupuncture will have to work through the already existing build-up to re-open those channels. A TCM practitioner might say that the body has a dampness or coldness to it when dealing with chronic pain. This is because when dealing with long term pain there is an accumulation of waste and very little energy flowing through that area. That is why when dealing with chronic pain it can take months of regular treatments before you feel any real results. The key is to stick with it and ensure your treatments are frequent and consistent. It took years for your body to get to this state so bringing it back to balanced won’t happen overnight and being patient will be your best friend.
The recovery process from an injury can be greatly sped up by the use of acupuncture as it helps to open up the channels and remove all the metabolic waste and fluid from the injured area. This allows the healing process to occur and gives the joint the ability to move more freely. In TCM it is believed that injury occurs due to a lack of nutrients to an area therefore the area tightens up, build-up of waste occurs and the energy gets stuck. Therefore, healthy blood flow can’t get in to the injured site for it to heal properly. Unlike most other modalities that are used for injuries, where the focus is more on creating blood flow through the tissue. Acupuncture is unique in that it focuses on bringing blood flow through the meridians AND the tissue to the injured site. It is important to recognize that clearing of both of these channels is vital to healing an injury and returning to sport. In recent studies, it has been shown that acupuncture not only effectively treats sports injuries such as ankle sprains, strains, golfers elbow, hip pain, low back, shin splints and shoulder pain but it has been proven to improve performance and give athletes a competitive edge. All the more reason to make acupuncture an integral part of your healthcare plan!
REFERENCES
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2016/03000/Acupuncture_for_the_Treatment_of_Sports_Injuries.16.aspx
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2006/02000/Acupuncture_in_Sports_Medicine.1.aspx
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2016/03000/Acupuncture_for_the_Treatment_of_Sports_Injuries.16.aspx
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2006/02000/Acupuncture_in_Sports_Medicine.1.aspx
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