When it comes to sports, kids play hard - and while they often seem to be made of rubber, injuries can still happen. Whether from overuse (like tendonitis, bursitis, or shin splints from swimming, tennis, running) or trauma resulting from external force from getting slammed on the field, acupuncture is a great alternative approach to treating a myriad of sports injuries. This gentle and effective technique provides pain relief and speeds rate of healing without invasive procedures or medication.Chinese Medicine Approach to Sports InjuriesChinese medicine can be a great compliment to Western medicine, as it takes a different approach to diagnosis. Western medicine focuses mainly on the symptoms of an injury: What isn't working, and how can we fix it? Chinese medicine addresses the symptoms but also focuses on origins or the root cause of the problem so that the injury is less likely to persist or reoccur.A Chinese medicine practitioner looks in depth at the athlete's health condition. A diagnosis is based on past injuries, but also other health issues including stress over school or performance, sleep patterns, nutrition, and the condition of all body systems. Acupuncture is then used bring the patient's mind, body, and spirit into balance, thereby promoting healing from injury as well as the optimizing overall health of the athlete.Is Acupuncture Effective for Sports Injuries?Clinical research has shown that acupuncture is effective at treating both acute injuries as well as chronic sports injury ailments.In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) summarized the results of an extensive study it conducted, "Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials." According to this study, acupuncture "has been proved, through clinical trials, to be effective" for a variety of sports injuries, including knee, neck, and shoulder pain; tennis elbow, and sprains.Research studies are starting to show what TCM has known for centu ries: acupuncture is a great way to treat pain and injuries, including those typically suffered by playing sports today. As few as 1 or 2 treatments can provide noticeable improvement if the injury is not severe.In an independent study, 31 patients suffering from acute ankle sprain were treated with acupuncture. There was a 100% success rate for patients with between as few as 2 up to 12 treatments.[1]In 2002, Callison conducted a study of patients with shin splints. Patients were divided into three groups: those who received regular sports injury treatment, those who received acupuncture, and those who received both. The acupuncture and combined groups reported much lower pain levels after 3 weeks of treatments twice a week compared to the sports medicine group.[2]In 1999, researches at the University of Heidelberg studied the effectiveness of acupuncture on rotator cuff (shoulder) tendonitis. They found patients who received 8 acupuncture treatments over the course of 4 we eks showed significant improvement compared to a "control" group that received placebo treatment.[3]This is just a small sampling of studies that have been conducted on acupuncture treatments for sports injuries. Read more here.Acupuncture for Kids' Sports InjuriesChildren respond particularly quickly and well to acupuncture, even though they may be a big apprehensive about needles at first! The tiny hair-thin needles are surprisingly not painful, nothing like getting a shot, and probably very mild in comparison to the injury itself. Ask your practitioner to demonstrate on mom or dad first to alleviate junior's concerns about pain. If needles are an absolute no-go, there are several needle-free techniques a pediatric acupuncturist can use.
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