Sports Injuries and Acupuncture

Most people know that Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to reduce pain, stress and promote overall health.

Acupuncture has also been used since ancient times to improve athletic performance and recovery of highly skilled martial artists and athletes of all kinds.

These same benefits are now a popular practice among professional athletes, young athletes, weekend warriors and many others looking to improve their athletic skills.

“I had a bad, bad case of sciatica. Lots of inflammation and swelling from my glute to the back of my knee, with numbness and tingling in my foot. Couldn't walk without crutches. Kept a cooler next to my bed so I could ice my leg and glute in the middle of the night. Couldn't ride my harley, couldn't swing a golf club. First time in my life I was ever sedentary. Swore I would never do opioid meds but I did. That and lots of NSAIDs. Massage therapy. Nothing, maybe worse. Chiropractic. Too inflamed, maybe worse. 2 steroid injections at a pain management clinic. Nothing. Physical therapy. Nothing. Not until I went to Modern Acupuncture did I see any progress. Walked out of each session the same or worse, but on the second or third day I felt incrementally better. 2 months later, it was gone. Just gone. No more sciatic pain. Like it never happened. Freakin' miracle.” - Max R.

Research shows that acupuncture is a useful treatment modality for injury prevention and recovery in athletes.

In our previous blog, Acupuncture for Athletes, you can read about how acupuncture helps athletes with pain relief, muscle healing, quicker recovery and better sleep for athletic performance.

How does acupuncture specifically benefit the common sports injuries of knee pain, lower back pain, achilles tendon and ankle injuries?

Multiple studies suggest that when needles are inserted, they stimulate points that boost our natural painkillers.The best part of using acupuncture for sports injuries is the fact that athletes never have to worry about experiencing the negative side effects of pharmaceutical drugs.

KNEE PAIN: ACL, PCL, MCL, and LCL strains, sprains, and tears respond well to acupuncture along with many other knee conditions including arthritis and meniscus disorders. Your acupuncturist will use a combination of points surrounding the knee, and in the muscles connecting to the knee to increase blood circulation and speed up the healing process.

LOWER BACK PAIN: One of the most common complaints in an acupuncture clinic is lower back pain. Acute lower back pain is a common condition that may be treated rapidly with acupuncture. Many athletes of all kind experience these acute injuries, from a quick rotation of the body or irregular fall. Treating this acute back pain quickly after the injury can help get you back out on the field in a much shorter time.

ACHILLES and ANKLE DISORDERS: Chronic re-injury of the achilles tendon, ankles, sprains and strains, instability, and recovery from surgical procedures are common ankle treatment concerns within the field of acupuncture. For chronic conditions, local acupuncture points help to strengthen and support the ankles. Many acupuncture patients experience a complete recovery or have a very significant improvement in their overall ankle condition. Without proper treatment many ankle injuries remain a low level issue long term.

If you want to improve sports performance and recover from sports related knee pain, lower back pain, achilles and ankle pain, we encourage you to visit your local Modern Acupuncture Clinic to feel for yourself how acupuncture can provide relief. We look forward to helping you and other athletes get back to the sports they love.