Clearwater Acupuncture for Sports Injuries

Playing sports is a wonderful way to stay in shape and have fun with friends. Whether you are a casual sports player, a weekend warrior or someone who trains hard everyday, acupuncture can be extremely valuable for you: it assists both acute and cumulative injury recovery, helps prevent future injuries and enhances athletic performance and endurance.

Many acupuncture techniques were born from the needs of the martial arts traditions in China.  Acupuncture played an important role in keeping ancient fighters in peak condition and it continues to keep modern athletes healthy and active. Some recognizable sports names who use acupuncture regularly are Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Carl Lewis, Charles Barkley and Jim McMahon. Also, many professional sports teams employ acupuncturists to treat injuries and keep players in top condition.

Acute Sports Injuries:

Sports are competitive in nature. When we are competing, we push ourselves beyond our normal limitations, which can result in traumatic injury. No doubt, when this happens, you will want to get back out on the court, field, rink, course or trail as soon as possible and acupuncture can help.

When traumatic injury occurs, first check with an urgent care doctor to be sure that it isn’t serious; fractures, dislocations, ruptured tendons and serious internal injuries should be treated by a medical doctor or hospital. But, after you are released to rest and recuperate, acupuncture is the perfect therapy to augment your recovery, reduce your pain and speed healing time.

Common traumatic injuries that acupuncture can treat are:

• shoulder rotator cuff tears and strains

• wrist sprains and strains

• ankle sprains and strains

• knee ligament and meniscus injuries (these are especially common in sports that require

• a lot of sudden starting, stopping and direction changing)

• vertebral disc inflammation in the neck or back

• strains (pulls) and tears of any muscle or tendon (i.e. hamstring, groin, Achilles tendon)

Cumulative Over-Use Injuries:

Some sports injuries are not sudden, but slowly build-up over time due to repeated over-use of a particular joint or muscle. Usually, these types of injuries start out as a nagging dull ache.  This is the best time to start getting treatment for these injuries. If you ignore them, they will build-up to become chronic and debilitating problems. Once advanced, these injuries often require more recovery time than acute, traumatic ones.

How do you distinguish between the nagging ache of a cumulative over-use injury and the typical soreness that accompanies working out?  Here are 3 general guidelines to help you determine what your ache may be telling you:

1.Cumulative injuries are often felt more in joints: shoulders, knees, elbows, wrists, hip joints.  Conversely, typical “working-out” soreness is felt more in the muscles.

2. With a cumulative injury, the nagging soreness occurs during or very shortly after playing your sport, whereas, typical muscle soreness from training doesn’t usually begin until 24 to 48 hours later.

3.Cumulative injuries will repeatedly occur in the same area week after week, but soreness from working out usually will not.

Common cumulative, over-use injuries that acupuncture can treat are:

• tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow and elbow bursitis

• shoulder tendinitis, bursitis, arthritis and impingement syndrome

• wrist tendinitis

• Achilles tendinitis

• hip bursitis

• illiotibial band syndrome

• knee arthritis

How Does Acupuncture Help?

From the Chinese medical point of view, the body is an energetic collection of functions, not just a mechanical collection of parts. That is to say, we contain Life Energy, also known as Qi (“chee”). One is said to be in perfect health when this energy is flowing unimpeded, and in an adequate amount throughout the entire body. Qi is the basis for the proper functioning of all body processes: it provides structural integrity and stability, physiological efficiency and the potential for healing.

When you sustain an injury, the flow of energy in and around the area becomes disrupted, causing stagnation and pain. This energy stagnation also inhibits the proper circulation of blood and lymph to the area, extending healing times, prolonging swelling and bruising and increasing the need for pain medications.

Acupuncture works directly to free the flow of Qi through these areas of stagnation.  This serves 3 main functions to assist healing and speed recovery:

1. Increased circulation of Qi decreases pain, inflammation and swelling (all of which are signs of stagnation).

2. Enhanced circulation of energy also brings increased circulation of blood and lymph.  This means that fresh vital nutrients are more readily available to tissues that need them in order to mend.

3. Enhanced circulation also carries dead cells and cellular waste products away from the injured site.

When Chinese herbal medicine is added to the acupuncture treatments, the healing and pain relieving effects are even greater.  Herbs for injuries may be applied topically and/or taken internally, depending on the nature of the injury.  Massage techniques may also be incorporated after the initial stages of recovery.

Enhancing Athletic Performance:

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine focuses on regulating the flow of energy (Qi) throughout the entire body, to create optimal circulation and function.

What could be possible when your heart, lungs, muscles, tendons and joints are all receiving fresh vital nutrients and being flushed of waste products quickly and efficiently?  Better physical performance, enhanced endurance, quicker recovery times and fewer incidents of injury. When added to a proper physical training program, acupuncture is extremely valuable for improving your game. This is what many professionals already know, and why they use acupuncture for injuries, injury prevention and enhanced performance.

Schedule Acupuncture for Sports Injuries in Clearwater

Have you been injured due to a sports-related event? Looking for a more natural approach to your pain management and healing? Dawn Potter Acupuncture and would be happy to help. We offer free 15-minute phone consultations and would be happy to discuss your overall needs and how our treatment options (including sports injury acupuncture) can help.

Sources:

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tennisinjuries/a/tennisinjuries.htm

http://sport-people.blogspot.com/2007/07/maria-sharapova-just-wanted-it-to-end.html

http://www.solveyourproblem.com/natural-health/reasons_to_try_acupuncture.shtml

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/node/402

Dawn Potter, AP, Dipl.OM

Published in Tampa Bay Wellness, Sept 2008

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What The Heck Is A “Gua Sha Massage”?

When it comes to different wellness treatment options, Gua Sha is one of them that people are often quite curious about. Some people refer to Gua Sha as “gua sha massage”, “gua sha therapy”, etc. It is also sometimes referred to as the “Graston Technique” when used in sports medicine, but may be a bit different depending upon practitioner. Have additional questions? Interested in scheduling an appointment? Want to book a free wellness consultation to discuss Gua Sha or another treatment option? Visit our booking site, send us a message or give us a call today.

So… What Is Gua Sha? Gua Sha is a treatment modality rooted in traditional Chinese medicine that many acupuncturists offer. During treatment, a smooth-edged tool is used to gently scrape areas of the body. Depending upon where you are having a problem and what problem you may have, Gua Sha may be performed on different areas of the body to achieve results. What Does Gua Sha Do? Gua sha can help with stagnant qi, inflammation, circulation and healing when properly performed. A more “Americanized” version of Gua Sha known as the “Graston Technique” has been used since the 1990s in sports medicine to address muscles or scar tissue and can help to stretch and relax those areas. Does Gua Sha Hurt?

When most people hear “scraping” they think Gua Sha may be painful. When performed properly, Gua Sha should not hurt at all. The entire treatment should be gentle and relaxing. If you for any reason feel uncomfortable during your Clearwater Gua Sha treatment, we ask that you immediately say something so that we can access why that would be happening.

Schedule Gua Sha in Clearwater, Florida Today

Ready to schedule Gua Sha in Clearwater? Book your appointment here, send us a message or give us a call today to get started.

Near Infrared Light Treatment, Inflammation Reduction & Long-Covid?

Do you experience inflammation throughout the body? Have you been labeled with “long-covid” syndrome or symptoms? Interested in a more natural approach to the inflammation occurring in your body? Considering near infrared light therapy in Clearwater? Today, Dawn Potter Acupuncture is discussing recent research into photobiomodulation therapy (red/near infrared light treatment), how that research supports inflammation treatment and what it could mean for those experience symptoms due to COVID infection. Have additional questions? Interested in scheduling a free 15 minute phone consultation to discuss light therapy? We would be happy to help with any of your needs. Simply reach out today.

What Is Near Infrared Light Treatment? Near Infrared Light therapy is a treatment option that has been used for a variety of conditions with underlying inflammatory issues for over a century. Special lights are used to expose an area to specific wavelengths of light. These lights come in different shape, sizes and configurations depending upon the exact use. Depending upon the exact light, the wavelength emitted can be vastly different as well. This recent research discusses which lights may be best and the different ways they can be used. How Can Clearwater Photobiomodulation Therapy Help? Results from a recent study showed that infrared exposure therapy can interact with the key inflammatory response pathway known to be deregulated among COVID-19 patients. Regulating this pathway may be effective in reducing the overall inflammatory response that may be caused by those experiencing inflammation such as that caused by COVID-19. More in-depth information and results of the research can be found here: Infrared light therapy relieves TLR-4 dependent hyper-inflammation of the type induced by COVID-19

if you would prefer a video that summarizes the information a bit better to understand, you can also watch this video on the topic: Near Infrared Light Reduces Inflammation via TLR4 In Vitro Dawn Potter's light panels are FDA-approved Class II Medical Devices. They emit 5 wavelengths of red & NIR light: 630, 660, 810, 830 & 850nm. Each wavelength penetrates through the body tissues to a specific depth and has its own special benefits as discussed in the research above.

Near Infrared Light Treatment Risks? When done incorrectly, skin burns can occur during near infrared light therapy, however, when done properly, there are no reported risks and the treatment has been approved for various medical applications.

Start Near Infrared Light Treatment in Clearwater, Florida Today

Interested in starting treatment? Contact us today to schedule your free 15 minute phone consultation. We would be happy to discuss which treatment options may be right for your needs.