Acupuncture and Sports Injury
If you’re a weekend warrior or a professional athlete, do you sometimes push yourself 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. Over time 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 anti-inflammatory 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 is the animating force that provides you with the ability to talk, walk, think, metabolize, dream, and love. Qi circulates through specific pathways called meridians. Meridian pathways are like rivers. When a river flows, it transports life-giving waters, nourishing the land and people around it. Like rivers, wherever your meridian pathway flows, they bring life giving Qi to nourish every cell, organ, tissue, muscle and tendon in your body. Qi provides you with good health, keeping you strong and healthy.
Much like a dam blocks the flow of water in a river, physical trauma, sprain, strain, overexertion or repetitive injury hinders the flow of Qi traveling through the meridian pathways.
When this occurs Qi becomes blocked and cannot circulate freely. Your body is not properly nourished and your health is compromised, causing a variety of symptoms 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 allow 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:
1. Herbs to naturally eliminate pain and reduce inflammation
2. Exercise to increase muscle strength and joint mobility
3. 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.