A growing number of professional and top amateur athletes are turning to acupuncture for treatment of sport injuries and to help optimize their conditioning. Dr Tim Erickson of Symmetry Chiropractic for help in recovery from sports injuries. As a Naperville chiropractor, Dr Tim has worked with many kind of work-related or sports injuries using chiropractic care and acupuncture treatment.
Acupuncture Sport Injury Treatment
Sprain and strain of the joint and surrounded tissue are one of the most common sports related injuries (sprain involves the ligament and strain involves muscle or tendon). Besides pain, the typical inflammatory response may include swelling of the injured area, redness or purple skin discoloration, and reduced range of motion of the joint. In addition to conventional R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) treatment, many athletes have found acupuncture treatment to be very helpful in suppressing inflammation and swelling fast.
Further concerns for the development of scar tissue at the point of injury may have long term impact of future mobility and competitive performance. Dr Tim encourages prompt treatment of the injury as quickly as possible. Seeking further professional assessment of the inury as Symmetry Chiropractic should be the next action.
Athletes and Acupuncture
NAGANO, Japan (AP) -- Canadian speedskater Kevin Overland was in a panic. The Olympics were just over a month away, and he was nursing an injured hip and listening to a physical therapist tell him it wouldn't heal in time.
So Overland turned to needles -- and he's going home with a bronze medal. " I'd been in physical therapy a million and one times," Overland said. "I knew it wouldn't help in time, and a friend recommended acupuncture. I've really reacted well to it." Overland, who finished third in the 500-meter sprint, is one of a growing number of athletes who are finding a cure for everything from pain to fatigue in the deftly twirled needles of the acupuncturist. And at the Nagano Olympics, they are seeking out the skills of local practitioner Susumu Koyama. "We have a lot to offer them," Koyama said as he finished Overland's muscle treatment one recent afternoon. "There seems to be a lot of interest in what we do."
Acupuncture involves sticking thin needles into specific nerve junction points on the body. The needles often are rotated or electrically stimulated. Dr Erickson of Symmetry Chiropractic sees acupunture as a powerful way to speed up healing, reduce trauma, and improve overall performace..
As Overland underwent treatment, about a dozen doctors and researchers from around the country looked on, taking notes and asking questions. Just four days into the games, he had already treated about 20 foreign competitors, most for fatigue. Though still seen as a fringe treatment in much of the West, acupuncture and sports are hardly strangers.
Pittsburgh Penguins star Jaromir Jagr, who will play for the Czech Republic in Nagano, used acupuncture to get over a groin injury last season. NBA guard Muggsy Bogues used it to relieve chronic knee pain that threatened to end his career two years ago.
Because capillaries tend to open under needle treatment, he said, acupuncture improves the circulation of blood and thus can cleanse muscles of lactic acid -- which produces the sensation of muscle soreness and fatigue -- faster than the natural process would. He said acupuncture treatment also has been found to increase the production of endorphins, a substance produced naturally in the body that increases the feeling of happiness and well-being.
Though Western medicine is dominant, acupuncture is widely practiced in Japan. As an indication of its acceptance, it is often covered under the national health insurance plan. Koyama explained that the Chinese theory behind acupuncture focuses on the flow of "qi," or energy, through the body. According to this theory, the interruption of the flow of qi causes disease. "We use different kinds of needles in China, Korea and Japan," he said, adding that the length and style of needle used also depends on the affected area of the body and the result desired.
Speedskater Overland, who started acupuncture treatment in Calgary before coming to Nagano, said he has no doubts about its effectiveness. "I came into this a bit skeptical," he said. "But I know it works for me." He added, however, that it might not be for everyone. "You have to be open-minded about it," he said. "A lot of people aren't."
"Track and field is not my entire life, so it's not something that would necessarily make me happy to train all day." Nashville eyeing speed demons by TIM WHARNSBY and LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
NEEDLES AND PINS: Paul Kariya, who battled post-concussion syndrome for three months, credits twice-weekly acupuncture treatments for his recovery from headaches and dizziness. "Before, I couldn't remember the last time I felt good," the Mighty Ducks captain said. "Now, I can't remember the last time I felt bad."
Kariya was cross-checked in the jaw Feb. 1 by Chicago's Gary Suter, causing him to miss the Nagano Olympics and the season's final 28 games. "I didn't think poking needles into me would work," said Kariya, who began the treatments April 20. "I did it for about a month and it was great ... it's good to be looking forward to next season." Kariya said he harbors no ill-will toward Suter or former Chicago coach Craig Hartsburg, who is expected to be interviewed soon for the vacant Anaheim coaching job. Suter is an unrestricted free agent July 1 and there has been talk that the Ducks would like to sign him.
