Treat Sports Injuries with Acupuncture

Sports injuries are injuries that occur during physical activity. Usually, these types of injuries are due to overuse of a part of the body. Other types of injuries can be caused by a hard contact with something. This can often cause a broken bone or torn ligament or tendon. A bruise or contusion is damage to small blood vessels which causes bleeding within the tissues. A muscle strain is a small tear of muscle fibers and a ligament sprain is a small tear of ligament tissue.

Symptoms

Inflammation usually occurs and is characterized by pain, localized swelling, heat, redness and a loss of function.

Types of Injuries

Most sports injuries fall in the category of sprains and strains. Acupuncture can also be used to decrease swelling, bruising, stop muscle spasms as well as enhance performance. It shortens healing time by improving blood supply to the affected area and increases the range of movement – especially in the treatment of joint injuries.

Acute injuries happen suddenly and can be directly or indirectly related to trauma. These injuries can include bursitis, dislocations, fractures, nerve impingements, sprains, and strains. Chronic injuries occur over time and are usually due to overusing muscles.

How Acupuncture Can Help

Acupuncture is well known for its effectiveness in treating a variety of painful disorders, both acute and chronic. Acupuncture not only treats the affected area, but the whole body. It promotes the body's natural healing ability.

The number of athletes using acupuncture to heal and prevent injury, ease tension caused by over training, and to help optimize their conditions and to cope with the stress of competition is rapidly increasing.

Canadian speed skater Kevin Overland was in a panic in Nagano, Japan due to an injured hip. The Olympics were just a month away his physical therapist continually told it wasn’t possible for him to make it in time. Overland was recommended to try acupuncture by his friend and reacted really well to it. In Japan, he won a bronze medal.

Pittsburgh Penguin’s star Jaromir Jagr used acupuncture get relief from a groin injury and NBA guard Muggsy Bogues used it to relieve chronic knee pain that threatened to end his career.

Using both Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine together with Western medicine significantly reduces healing time. Don’t forget that it is essential that people should start acupuncture treatment as soon as possible in order to shorten recovery time.