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SPORTS INJURIES
What is Sports Acupuncture?
Sports Acupuncture is a modern branch of Acupuncture for the treatment of acute and chronic injuries that arise from the playing of sports such as running, cycling, football, soccer, Crossfit, weightlifting etc. Sports injuries can potentially affect all levels of athlete, be they a weekend warrior or a high level athlete. Although injuries can be expected if you play sports long enough, you don't have suffer through the pain of them. The use of Acupuncture and Dry needling for sports injuries can be an effective treatment methods for the management of chronic and acute pain, such as knee, shoulder, neck and back pain.
Acupuncture Treatment for Sports Injuries and Muscle Sprains
Acupuncture is effective for treating sports injury and pain. A body of evidence has developed and grown showing that acupuncture is an effective approach to the management of pain and injury. Dry needling also has some positive evidence to support its use, but compared to Acupuncture, Dry needling is in its research infancy.
Acupuncture may be useful to aid with:
- Neck Pain
- Shoulder Pain
- Elbow Pain
- Back Pain
- Sciatica
- Knee Pain
- Heel Pain and Plantar Fascitis
- Postoperative Pain
Getting Back to Playing Sports with Acupuncture
Taking steps to manage pain and injury are the some of the first steps towards returning to your sport. Typically during a session the acupuncturist will ask you about your injury, how it occurred, what caused it and various other particulars pertaining to it, such as any limits to your range of motion, exacerbating and relieving factors. The Acupuncturist will then ask some additional questions to get a broader idea of your health history. They will likely palpate the affected and surrounding areas, perform some musculoskeletal and additional tests. The acupuncturist will discuss with you their treatment plan and then start treatment once gaining your consent.
Treatment may include a combination of acupuncture, cupping, massage and/or moxibustion, along with some advice of how to manage the pain and even some suggestions for pain management activities. In Chinese medicine we see the body through a different lens, as such you may find we may use both local treatment, at the site of the sports injury, and distal treatment, away from the site of the injury. We may also suggest some Chinese herbs or external ointments or liniments that could be used. The acupuncturist may even refer you back to your GP or onto another physical therapist for additional support and investigation regarding your sports injury recovery. Your experience is different from the next persons and will require a personalized approach to treating your sports injury.