Acupuncture for sports injuries

What sports injuries are

Sports injuries range from the common sprains and strains of weekend athletes to serious injuries in competitive and professional sport. They tend to fall into two groups.

Acute injuries happen suddenly, from a fall, a twist or a hard landing. Examples include sprained ankles, pulled muscles and torn ligaments.

Overuse injuries build up over time from repeated strain. Examples include tendinitis, patellar tendinitis (often called jumper’s knee), runner’s knee and plantar fasciitis. Without enough time to heal, a minor injury can turn into a nagging, long-term one.

Robert sees a wide range of sports injuries, including sprained or torn ligaments and tendons, herniated disks, and recovery after a broken bone or a concussion. He has been treating them at his Eastlake clinic since 2003.

How Robert treats sports injuries

Robert is a certified practitioner of Toyohari, a Japanese style of meridian therapy. He trained in Japan in 2006 and 2007. He starts each visit by reading your pulse carefully. That reading guides a gentle whole-body treatment with very fine needles and light contact. Many patients barely feel the needles.

For an injury, Robert also places a few fine needles near the injured area. The aim is to ease pain and inflammation and help support recovery so you can get back to your sport. For an injury that is slow to heal, or an old one that aches in cold weather, he may add moxibustion, a warming therapy that uses the herb mugwort. He sometimes suggests a Chinese herbal formula during recovery as well.

Acupuncture can complement physical therapy. Robert has worked with many physical therapists and physicians and can refer you to one when needed. For broken bones, concussions and badly torn ligaments, medical care comes first. Acupuncture can then be one part of your recovery.

Robert sees one patient at a time, so there is time to talk through your injury, your training and your goals.

What a course of treatment looks like

Your first visit takes about 75 minutes. Robert asks about your health history, how the injury happened and what you want to get back to. Then he reads your pulse and gives your first treatment. Return visits take about 45 minutes.

A typical course is 5 to 15 weekly sessions. A fresh sprain or strain may need fewer visits. Overuse injuries and chronic patterns often take longer. Some people notice a change after the first visit. For others, progress builds over several sessions. Robert checks in at each visit and adjusts the plan as you return to training. If you are also seeing a physical therapist, keep up the exercises they give you.

When to see a doctor first

Get medical care before starting acupuncture if:

• You cannot put weight on the injured leg or use the injured arm
• A bone or joint looks deformed, or you think something may be broken
• You heard a pop and the area swelled quickly
• A joint feels unstable, locks or gives way
• You have numbness or tingling, or the limb looks pale or feels cold
• You hit your head and have a headache, confusion, dizziness, nausea or memory problems
• Pain is not improving after a week or two of rest

After any blow to the head, stop playing and get checked by a doctor. Do not return to sport the same day.

Related conditions

Many sports injuries overlap with knee pain, ankle sprain and low back pain.