, Spring has officially sprung! Tis the season to start playing your favorite sports, hit the hiking trails, dust of your bike, and enjoy the beauty of Colorado’s outdoor fun. Unfortunately this time of year is also plagued with sports injuries. Although we try to avoid injury, the reality is if you play hard the risk is extremely high. When injury occurs you probably think ice, elevation, compression….but what about needles. Needles?? Yes, the ancient practice of Acupuncture has been proven by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be effective to alleviate pain, inflammation and help heal injuries.
How does acupuncture work?
Acupuncture is part of Chinese and/or Oriental Medicine which views the body as an energetic system that is continually striving for a state balance – know as the Yin and Yang balance. This delicate equilibrium stems from a good flow of energy (Chi or Qi) throughout the body. When sports injury or trauma occurs, the Chi becomes stuck or blocked. Think of a traffic jam – If you drive I-25 from the Denver Tech Center to Downtown in the middle of the day it is a pleasant experience and you cruise at 65 mph with a nice flow of cars. According to Jordan Wagner, occasionally this flow is disrupted and there is a sudden slow down, signaling that something has happened on the highway. If we look at our energy system as we would the I-25 corridor, the flow is easily influenced by the slightest blockage. So, if the highway is “injured” (i.e. a small to serious accident), the traffic either slows down or totally stops (in Chinese terms the Chi and Blood are not circulating efficiently, causing the area of our body to swell up and become painful, hot to touch, inflamed, stiff, and the muscle may cramp or even spasm). This “injury” or blockage is local, but has a broad effect on the “system”, causing long waits at the onramps and dramatic slowing on adjacent roads and highways. In reference to the body it basically knocks us completely out of balance.
Acupuncture treatments use needling to trigger the release of neuro-chemicals in the brain such as endorphins and the repairing troops to heal the damage. It also speeds up the healing process by increasing the flow of Chi and blood into the affected area. Specific points are used based on the diagnosis and injury location, with the overall goal of bringing the body back into its original state of balance.
In addition, Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can be used to prevent sports and other injuries by strengthening the body. This is achieved through needling as well as herbal formulas used to balance the organs. Balanced and healthy organ and organ function (especially kidney, liver and spleen) mean strong bones, tendons and muscles.
