Athletes Discover Acupuncture Treats Injuries & Boosts Performance

Athletes of many stripes are turning to acupuncture for an effective method of injury treatment and prevention. Professional football players from the ranks of the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers and more have embraced acupuncture to manage pain, speed injury recovery, and achieve peak physical performance in their sport. A review of research studies on the use of acupuncture in sports confirms its efficacy at increasing muscle strength and power in athletes.1

Sports acupuncture is used for injury treatment, prevention and (in combination with Chinese herbs) to improve athletic performance.2 Acupuncture taps into the body’s natural ability to heal itself. It can work in conjunction with Western medical treatment, and in cases where rest is prescribed for an injury, acupuncture reduces pain and accelerates the healing process without side effects.

Matt Callison, a licensed acupuncturist and instructor at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, has been using sports acupuncture to treat athletes for 11 years and counting. Callison says, “traditional Chinese medicine [including acupuncture, herbs and exercises] has been an extremely helpful and growing trend in athletics for quite a while. Steve Young and Jerry Rice [of the San Francisco 49ers] have been treated with sports acupuncture, and Canadian speed skater Kevin Overland received sports acupuncture to help him earn a bronze medal in the 1998 Olympics.”3

Baltimore Ravens safety Will Demps credits acupuncture with boosting his performance on the field. “In my extensive off-season workouts, I have noticed a difference in my balance and agility since receiving [acupuncture] treatments…I feel my muscles have been ‘turned on’ and are firing on all cylinders.”3

In Major League Baseball, the Seattle Mariners were the first team to utilize acupuncture, primarily due to the influence of Japanese players such as Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki. Players opt for acupuncture to help their muscles rebound more quickly after intense training, or to support rehabilitation and speed recovery from injuries.4

Proprioception, the body’s sense of where it is in space, is a process of the muscles communicating with the nervous system. Injury interferes with the body’s proprioceptive signals and creates imbalance. Acupuncture serves to relieve stress on the musculoskeletal system5 and “is one of the quickest ways to restore muscle balance,” says Callison. “When acupuncture is used at specific sites, the muscle spindles are reset, and then that balance is reawakened.”

The practice of acupuncture views pain as an imbalance or interruption of one’s qi (life force energy). The insertion of acupuncture needles triggers the release of pain- and inflammation-fighting chemicals in the body, and restores the cyclical flow of qi, allowing the body to function at more optimal levels. A qualified acupuncturist will first conduct a thorough intake and evaluation of symptoms, then create a targeted course of treatment for maximum results.

This is an original article from Dreamclinic, Inc. Dreamclinic is a Health and Wellness company committed to sharing information about commonly experienced health conditions and how they may be impacted through the use of bodywork and other natural approaches.

References:
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20386479
2. https://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/Acupuncture+for...
3. https://www.pacificcollege.edu/acupuncture-massage-news/articles/593-.html
4. http://www.bastyr.edu/news/general-news-home-page/2013/05/acupuncture-st...
5. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9781437709278

Acupuncture to Treat Anxiety Disorders

According to the National Institute of Health, “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older.” In addition, according to the same source, women are 60% more likely to experience anxiety and the average onset of an anxiety disorder is age 11. However, only 42.2% of those with anxiety seek any kind of treatment, and of that only 33.8% are receiving minimally adequate treatment. The take away is that anxiety is something we all experience at some level and we are not doing enough to treat it.

Anxiety can be caused by many factors. From a specific event like an upcoming test, to an uncomfortable conformation with a loved one, to a more serious trauma, anxiety has many roots. Although the roots of the anxiety vary from person to person and must be identified and treated, the anxiety one experiences needs to be managed. Below are some of the bodily responses of anxiety:

•Physical symptoms such as an irregular heartbeat.
•Cognitive symptoms, which can cause negative thoughts.
•Behavioral symptoms, which may include uncharacteristic aggression or restlessness.
•Emotional symptoms, such as fear.

Acupuncture can be a good way to treat anxiety. According to Psychology Central, “In a comprehensive literature review appearing in a recent edition of CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics, it was proved that acupuncture is comparable to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which psychologists commonly use to treat anxiety (Errington-Evans, 2011). Another study published in the Journal of Endocrinology in March 2013 discovered stress hormones were lower in rats after receiving electric acupuncture (Eshkevari, Permaul and Mulroney, 2013).” Science clearly agrees that acupuncture is a more than adequate way to help manage anxiety.

To understand how acupuncture helps relieve anxiety is to understand the thoughts behind Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM believes in a force called QI that regulates the body’s overall health. QI, like blood, moves through the body via pathways called meridians. When factors like stress or changes in environment disrupt the flow of QI, health issues follow, according to the University of Miami Health System. When an acupuncturist inserts needles at a specific point in the body, balance is restored to the QI and the body’s overall health, the University of Chicago Medicine states. This might seem hard to grasp, but if you consider that QI is just another way of describing chemical reactions taking place in the body, it makes more sense.

Acupuncture needles can affect the body’s chemicals reactions. For example, needles placed in the correct acupuncture point can cause the nervous system to produce painkilling chemicals. It can also jump start the body’s natural healing process or stimulate the part of the brain that controls emotions, including anxiety, according to Dr. Daniel Hsu, a Doctor of Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine. Specifically referring to how acupuncture helps with anxiety, researchers at Georgetown University led by Eshkevari used lab studies to demonstrate that acupuncture slows the body’s production of stress hormones.

One study, published online in the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies showed that participants who underwent acupuncture for anxiety saw improvements after just one 20-minute session. This means that after just one session, patients could feel relief from their anxiety, and because acupuncture changes the chemical balance in the brain, which makes the patient feel better, it may mean less medication is needed. As the chemicals in the brain are altered, medication, which does the same thing, may no longer have a role to play.

It is important to note that any acupuncture session comes with general, normal side effects. They include minor bruising and dizziness, both of which are minimal as opposed to psychotherapy drugs, which can have more serious side effects. In this sense, acupuncture is much safer for treating anxiety. Plus, unlike drugs that can lead to dependency, acupuncture is not likely to have the same addictive effect.

When it comes to trying acupuncture for anxiety, you have nothing to lose. With a licensed acupuncturist, the risks are almost non-existent and are outweighed by the potential benefits. After just a few sessions, you may even find yourself sleeping better and enjoying other health benefits. If already on treatment for anxiety, acupuncture can make a good addition to your regimen. If it works, you can speak to your doctor about limiting or reducing medication. It is a win-win situation for your health. Even just trying a treatment will make you feel better because you are taking action to alleviate the anxiety instead of worrying and increasing your anxiety level.

Like many medical diagnoses, there is not always a one-size fits all solution. Depending on the person and the individual diagnosis, treatment may vary. For some people, acupuncture alone may work. For others, a combination of therapy, medication, and acupuncture may be best. Consult with your doctor before starting any treatment and discuss a treatment plan that will work for you.

This article originally appeared on Above & Beyond Acupuncture.