Injured Athletes and Acupuncture

I have always been amazed at the clinical results that I have seen with injured
athletes and acupuncture. For a while, my wife and I worked closely with a number
of athletes from a world championship athletic team, the Santa Barbara Condors At
the world class level, these athletes would be compared to world cup soccer players
in the way their body is used and abused. My findings were that for most types of
injuries, acupuncture had profound results. What is important is the distinction
between acupuncture that is used to get rid of pain, and acupuncture that is used to
relax the muscles and soft tissue (while freeing up the energy flow). Also, the
distinction of separating sprain from strain and tear. The best results that I always
found were from stress and strain. Tear, I would always refer to an Orthopedic
Physician and suggest herbs to speed up the healing process. When it comes to
knots, clicks, pops, soreness, tension, and aches, acupuncture is extremely
effective.

As a warning, I would caution athletes to train as if they are competing. If you are
interested in getting acupuncture, start in the off season, and stay with it through
the year. If you are close to your championships and have never had acupuncture,
you may get the results you are looking for, but with all complimentary medicine,
expect the unexpected. You don't want to be too relaxed on the day of a
competition, and if you are always high strung and relax deeply you may get a detox
reaction. While a detox reaction is usually mild, such as light headedness, nausea,
or fatigue, these changes in the body are not desirable just prior to competition.

Mark Fischer, LAc is a licensed Oriental medical physician. He has a clinical
acupuncture and oriental medical practice in Boulder Colorado. You can read more
articles by Mark as well as find out information about his clinic at: http://www.innerfire.org

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