Find out how Acupuncture can help sports injuries

Acupuncture and Sports Medicine

By AMY Dickinson Many of us in Boulder County have a passion for sports and outdoor activity, and for many of us, the primary factor for moving here in the first place. Being sidelined due to an injury can have tremendous effect on us, both physically and mentally. The goal of every athlete, whether we’re weekend warriors or elite athletes, is to get back to doing the sport that we love as quickly as possible. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can be a useful addition to your ‘gym bag’, and can keep you healthy and in the game.

Injury may occur as we push ourselves beyond our limits. In our fast-paced lifestyle, we frequently don’t have the time or the patience to allow ourselves to heal completely. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you to recover more quickly by increasing the circulation of your body’s energy (Qi) and blood, and by encouraging your body to do what it does naturally- heal itself. By using Acupuncture and, if indicated, herbal therapy, you should recover faster and with less pain.

Despite the strange vocabulary, acupuncture is neither magic nor a folk-medicine. It is a scientific process that has evolved over thousands of years. Acupuncture uses fine needles (about the size of 3 of your hairs) to encourage the circulation of your body’s healing and nourishing energy (qi). We use the analogy of a plant and a hose- when there is a kink in the hose, nourishment will not flow, and the plant will suffer. Your nourishing qi operates under the same principle- without proper flow, the muscles, tendons, bones and ligaments will not receive proper nourishment. Signs and symptoms of this lack of nourishment (Qi deficiency or inadequate flow) include injuries which are slow to heal, swelling, bruising, stiffness, tendonitis, and sub-optimal performance.

As an athlete, you may experience sprain, strain, repetitive stress injuries, physical trauma, overexertion, overtraining, or emotional stress. All of these can be helped by improving the circulation of qi throughout your body. Chinese herbal therapy may also be recommended. External herbal therapy is applied directly on the injured tissue to promote circulation and therefore the healing of the injury. Internal herbal therapy may be recommended to address constitutional imbalances that may be either aggravating or slowing the healing of your injuries. Herbal therapy may also be used during the training period (without an injury) to address any health issues that may be preventing the athlete from performing optimally.

Injury may occur as we push ourselves beyond our limits. In our fast-paced lifestyle, we frequently don’t have the time or the patience to allow ourselves to heal completely. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you to recover more quickly by increasing the circulation of your body’s energy (Qi) and blood, and by encouraging your body to do what it does naturally- heal itself. By using Acupuncture and, if indicated, herbal therapy, you should recover faster and with less pain.

Chinese Medicine works well in conjunction with other therapies- an athlete need not choose between acupuncture and other therapies. It can be used in conjunction with massage therapy, personal training, and chiropractic. Progressively-minded Physical Therapists are finding that their patients PT regimens often go better when acupuncture is used adjunctively. Chinese Medicine can be a very useful addition to any athlete’s health care team.

Amy Dickinson comes from a long line of Sports Medicine Doctors, but she is the first to use Chinese Medicine. Her father was the Sports Medicine Doctor for the 1976 US Olympic Cross Country Ski Team. She likes integrating the precision of Western Medical Diagnosis with the long-standing wisdom of Chinese Medicine. She has been a ski instructor in Colorado, Alaska, and Japan.