Sport and Exercise Injuries

		The facts
		In Australia about 370,000 people are injured playing organised sport each year. Add everyone else who gets injured exercising outside of organised sporting activities and the number would be much higher. It’s no wonder that about 550,000 Australians are living with long-term conditions caused by exercise related injury (ABS, National Health Survey, 2001).

Recover quickly with acupuncture

I know from my own experience how frustrating and uncomfortable it is to be injured through exercise. If you’ve been putting in the hard work to improve your fitness or sporting performance, than the last thing you want is to have long periods away from your chosen sport due to injury. Luckily, acupuncture can help you get over these injuries quickly so you can get back to doing your favourite activities and prevent your injuries from becoming long-term problems.

Acupuncture can successfully treat all types of sport injuries including:

muscle sprains, strains and tears		general muscle pain and weakness
ligament and tendon injuries		sprained ankle
bone fractures and breaks		tennis elbow and golfers elbow
rotator cuff and shoulder injuries		neck sprain and pain
knee injuries and pain		arm and wrist pain
general joint stiffness and pain		back pain and injury

Whether you have a sudden injury like sprains, strains and breaks or niggling joint or muscle pain that crept up slowly, acupuncture can help you.

How does acupuncture treat sport injuries?

Acupuncture stimulates your body to heal itself. It encourages your blood and energy to circulate freely so that injured tissues get fresh nutrients needed to heal, it helps remove dead cells and toxins that slow healing, and it helps moderate inflammation. Acupuncture treatments help to reduce swelling, relieve pain, improve mobility and hasten recovery from sporting injuries.       Contact Jonathan to start your treatment program and recover from injury faster.

Prevention is the best medicine

The best way to get the most from exercise is to prevent injuries from happening. Take these basic steps to prevent injury:

1. ALWAYS warm up before and cool down after exercise.
2. Exercise at a level that is appropriate for you.
3. Increase intensity and duration of your exercise slowly.
4. Wear appropriate clothing, footwear, and protective gear.
5. Stay hydrated and avoid exercising outdoors in very hot weather.
6. Stretching? The verdict is still out on whether stretching prevents injury. Personally, I find that my muscles and joints feel better if I stretch after exercise. If you do stretch then NEVER stretch before you warm up.

Sometimes, despite your best attempt to avoid injury, accidents just happen. If you do get injured, apply first aid and get treatment as soon as possible.

First aid for sprains, strain and joint injuries

Chinese medicine and Western medicine often disagree on how to manage acute injuries, particularly whether or not to use ice. Chinese medicine understands that exposure to cold slows your energy and blood circulation and in the long-term this will cause pain and slow healing. None the less, I have found that prudent use of ice in the early stage of injury can help to control inflammation. I advocate the following strategy to manage injury.

1. Rest the injured area
2. Apply ice packs for the first hour (15 minutes of icing followed by 30 minutes of no ice). If there is swelling, bruising or significant pain then continue using ice for the first 24 to 48 hours (15 minutes every two hours).
3. Use a bandage to apply compression to the injured area. Extend the bandage above and below the injury as well.
4. Elevate the injury above your heart.
5. See your acupuncturist ASAP.

Act fast and heal quickly

If you’ve been putting in the hard work to improve your fitness, don’t let injuries keep you from enjoying benefits of exercise. If you hurt yourself while exercising come in straight away for the fastest recovery. If you’re already nursing long-term problems from previous injuries then come in even faster to get back on the road to health and fitness!

Click here to make your first appointment for
sports injury acupuncture

Jonathan Hanlon - Pain Relief Acupuncture, General Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine

Sydney - Eastern Suburbs & North Sydney

Soultonik Wellness Centre - Bondi Junction, Woollahra & The Skin Studio - St Leonards