Acupuncture & sports: performance, endurance, vitality
If you’re a weekend warrior or a professional athlete, do you sometimes push your body to the extreme?
Do you hone your skills and technique in order to become a healthier, stronger, faster and more agile athlete?
In the sporting world, injury may occur as we push beyond our limits. We may overdo it, creating problems now, and in the future.
In today’s hectic lifestyle, we often don’t allow adequate time to heal. We use painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications to dull the aches and pains and reduce inflammation. It’s a quick and easy approach, but only temporary fix.
By covering up pain, stiffness, swelling, or aches, you may be masking a deeper problem. These are signals from the body, telling you that something is weakened and out of balance.These warnings signals are telling you to stop, rest, and heal.
In the short term, medication may enable you to return to your sport, and carry on with your life, but in the long run, it may make your problem worse. Regular use of medication, may add to further injury, and have unwarranted side effects that could greatly impact performance, endurance and vitality.
Acupuncture is a time-tested, safe, natural and drug-free health care system that can provide immediate relief and long lasting benefits. It can help you return to peak performance by restoring the proper and continuous flow of vital energy, called Qi (pronounced “chee).
Qi circulates within a series of pathways called Meridians. Meridians disperse Qi throughout your body, providing nourishment for every tissues, muscle, and tendon. The circulating Qi supports, strengthens, and enlivens your entire body, supplying you with the power to perform, good health, and pain-free living.
As an athlete, you may experience physical trauma, sprain, over-exertion, repetitive injury, and emotional stress. All of these disrupt the flow of Qi in various ways.
Imagine a blockage in a hose that cuts off the valuable supply of water to a plant. The proper flow and quality of water is required in order for the plant to reach its fullest potential. Over time, if the plant does not receive adequate nourishment, it will wither and waste away.
Likewise, if the flow of Qi is disrupted, blocked, or out-of -balance, it will not circulate freely within your meridian pathways. When this occurs, it can lead to a variety of symptpms and signs including pain, swelling, stiffness, limited range of motion, and fatigue. This can result in less than optimal health and may ultimately hinder your performance.
Acupuncture is part of a broad-based approach. Treatments may be combined with other therapies such as herbs to naturally eliminate pain and reduce inflammation, exercise to increase muscle strengh and joint mobility, and massage to enhance soft tissue healing.
Acupuncture can provide a competitive edge, leading to improved performance. It is also viable therapy in the treatment of acute sprains, strains and pain.
This ancient and effective form of healthcare can reduce swelling, improve range of motion, strengthen your body, speed recovery time, and address any underlying problems that could contribute to a future injury. Acupuncture can help create a healthier, stronger, faster and more agile you.
” Anticipate things that may grow thorny, while they are still easy to manage, and do things that would become momentous, while they are still insignificant.”
_Lao Tzu, Chinese Poet & Philosopher