Acupuncture & Sports

If you're a weekend warrior or a professional athlete, do you sometimes push your body to the extreme, honing your skill and technique to build a healthier, stronger, faster and more agile athlete?

In the sporting world, injury may occur as we push beyond our limits. Overtime we may overdo it, causing problems now and in the future.

In today's world, we often don't allow adequate time to completely heal. We use painkillers and antiinflammatory drugs to dull the aches, pains and reduce inflammation. It's a quick and easy approach, but, it's a temporary fix.

By covering up the pain, stiffness, swelling, or aches, you may be masking a deeper problem. These are the warning signals from your body, telling you that something is weakened, out of balance, and needs to be taken care of. Pain is a warning signal telling you to stop, rest and heal.

In the short term, drugs will enable you to return to your sport and carry on with your life, but, in the long run, it may make the problem worse. Regular use of drugs may add to further injury and have side effects that could impact your performance.

Acupuncture can provide immediate relief and long lasting benefit. It can help you return to peak performance by restoring the proper and continuous flow of vital energy, called Qi (pronounced "chee").

Qi circulates within a series of pathways called meridians. Meridians disperse Qi throughout your body in order to nourish every cell, tissue, muscle, tendon, and organ. The circulating Qi provides you with good health, proper function and pain-free living.

Much like a dam blocks the flow of water in a river, physical trauma, sprain, strain, over exertion or repetitive injury hinders the flow of Qi traveling through the meridian pathways.

When this occurs Qi becomes blocked and cannot freely circulate. Then your body is not properly nourished and your health is then compromised.

This can cause a variety of symptoms and signs including pain, swelling, stiffness, fatigue, and less-than optimal performance.

An acupuncturist inserts fine, sterile, acupuncture needles at points on the body in order to stimulate the free flow of Qi. Opening up the blocked dams allows for Qi to nourish all areas of your body. This will speed recovery time, address the root-cause of the problem, enhance performance and prevent future injury.

Acupuncture is part of a broad-based treatment approach. Treatments may be combined with other therapies such as, herbs to naturally eliminate pain and reduce inflammation, exercise to increase muscle strength and joint mobility, and massage to enhance soft tissue healing.

By nourishing, strengthening and supporting the body, acupuncture can provide a competitive edge in order for you to achieve peak performance.

This article was provided by Acupuncture Media Works

Back to Acupuncture Page

DAVID N. BOLE, Ph.D., A.P. is director of the Traditional Acupuncture Center, a holistic health care facility offering a multi-dimensional approach to health and healing. Read more about Dr. Bole...