Summer activities can bring on injuries
Speed your healing process with Acupuncture
As we become more active during the summer months your chances of encountering some injuries tend to increase. These may be acute, such as a sprain, broken bone, dislocated joint or they may include the flair up of a chronic injury such as tennis elbow or shin splints.
To prevent these injuries it's helpful to ease into new activities gradually. Be sure to stretch before and after exercise and above all be mindful of how your body is feeling. Keeping an eye on those milder aches and pains, and getting care for them early, will help you avoid a chronic injury later.
If you do get injured while enjoying your favorite activity this summer, call us to schedule an Acupuncture appointment right away. Acupuncture helps speed the healing process by increasing the flow of Qi and blood to the injured area. Treatments will bring down swelling and inflammation, relieve pain and can help to restore a normal range of motion.
Herbal formulas are also available to help your body heal injuries. At different stages of your healing process they may help reduce swelling and relieve pain, move congestion and old blood out of the area to allow for repair of tissues and/or nourish the body to rebuild tissue and bone.
To ease the minor aches and pains you are experiencing, because of too much summer activity, ask about our Product of the Month for June: Herbal Analgesic. Our clients have reported that one capsule of Herbal Analgesic has comparable pain and swelling relief to that of a 200 mg Ibuprofen tablet, without the harmful side effects.
Our Open House Celebration was well attended!
Thank you to all who were able to join us for the Open House Celebration of our new clinic location in The Dalles.
The Dalles Ambassadors were on hand for a ribbon cutting at our new The Dalles Clinic location.
If you haven't had a chance to see our new clinic yet, please take a few moments to stop by. We are conveniently located on the way up the hill to the hospital, just off of Dry Hollow and 12th Street - turn left at the 4 way stop intersection; we are located immediately on the right, in the building that used to be a Laundromat.
We are excited to share our new facility and all of the amenities it has to offer!
We are now open in The Dalles Tuesday through Friday!
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Acupuncture for sports injuries
Did you know that the use of Acupuncture to treat sports injuries actually began centuries ago, as the primary means of quick healing for the martial arts?
Sports injury encompasses a large area of medical concerns. Basically, it covers all acute injuries and chronic ailments due to specific physical activities. It includes problems that result from physical training, outdoor activities and competitions. People who participate in these activities commonly stress or damage muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints - the areas that are used the most. Seeking Chinese medical treatment for sports injury is especially recommended if something isn't healing as fast as you think it should, or if you're eager to get back to full health and activity as fast as possible.
Specific Conditions
A variety of medical diagnoses fall under the umbrella of sports injuries. Some of the most common include: tennis elbow, pitcher's shoulder, low back strain, trick knee, tendonitis and shin splints.
You don't have to be an extreme sports enthusiast to reap the benefits of Acupuncture to treat acute injuries from intense or repetitive physical activity. Acupuncture has a very successful record with sports injuries. In fact, many professional sports teams have Acupuncturists on staff to decrease healing times and resolve stubborn ailments their athletes suffer from. They have found that the regular use of Acupuncture can stop pain and dramatically increase recovery time.
How Does Acupuncture Help?
Acupuncture is an effective treatment for sports injuries because it reduces pain, increases range of motion, increases recovery and healing time, and strengthens weakened parts of the body.
These effects are accomplished during treatment because of Acupuncture:
- Decreases inflammation
- Reduces swelling
- Relaxes muscles and relieves spasms
- Decreases bruising
- Lowers the body's pain response
- Improves local blood circulation to increase delivery of nutrients and removal of noxious elements
When to get Acupuncture
Acupuncture divides sports injuries into two main categories: Acute and Chronic.
The Acute designation refers to injuries which have recently happened and the chronic designation refers to those injuries which have been unresolved for 3 or more months.
For Acute Injuries - Acupuncture treatments should then begin as soon after an injury as possible, for the best results. Acupuncturists classify acute injuries as excess conditions. An excess condition is just what it sounds like: there is an excess physical response (too much pain) or an excess biochemical reaction (too much inflammation or swelling). Acupuncture treatment given soon after an injury occurs encourages the body to address and process this excess in a rapid fashion. An improvement is usually noticed within one or two treatments.
For Chronic Injuries - Once you have addressed your immediate concern regarding a sports injury, it is important to determine if there is an underlying structural cause for a lingering injury such as a loss of cartilage, formation of scar tissue or degenerative damage. Once the complete underlying framework of the injury is understood, an Acupuncture treatment plan can be devised to address both the main symptoms and their causes. This may include a series of Acupuncture treatments, Chinese herbal formulas, stretches and exercises and diet modifications. These recommendations will be specifically designed to meet the needs of your body, to assist you in regaining your optimal level of health.
In addition to regular Acupuncture treatments - You can keep your body in top-shape by following these simple hints as you participate in your favorite summer activities: Keep your body hydrated, eat well, get lots of protein, and don't overdo it!
A growing number of professional athletes regularly visit an Acupuncturist for the treatment of their injuries and to help optimize their conditioning. Why shouldn't you too take advantage of Acupuncture treatments to prepare your body for what you have in store for it this summer?
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