Does Acupuncture Work?
Tom Brady and David Beckham think so. Here’s why…
Acupuncture is well-known for its benefits of relieving migraines, reducing stress and promoting fertility; however, what many people aren’t aware of is that acupuncture offers lots of sports-related benefits and can help athletes with performance, recovery, endurance and anxiety.
Top athletes like Tom Brady and David Beckham are huge advocates of acupuncture as it helps them stay in peak condition and on top of their game.
Whether you’re a recreational, amateur or professional athlete, discover how acupuncture for athletes works and how it can improve your athletic performance, enabling you to reach new levels, in the gym and on the playing fields.
How can acupuncture improve athletic performance?
Acupuncture is a modality that uses very small, thin needles which are inserted into acupuncture points on the body and face to stimulate nerves, promote energy flow and bring the body back into balance. Acupuncture is highly effective for athletes and can help improve athletic performance, stamina and muscle strength. It can also shorten recovery time, heal muscles and tissues, reduce pre-game jitters and relieve anxiety.
Can acupuncture strengthen muscles?
Acupuncture has shown to be successful in helping athletes achieve improved muscle strength and extending the amount of time one can train by delaying muscle fatigue. One study indicated that 12 acupuncture sessions over a four-week period led to a significant increase in leg muscle strength when specific acupoints were stimulated. The men receiving acupuncture kept up their usual daily activities without any other interventions throughout the study period, suggesting acupuncture was the sole reason for the improved muscle strength. Researchers speculate that stimulating muscle fibers via acupuncture may create a training effect, both in limbs that receive the treatment and those that do not.
Using acupuncture for muscle recovery after a workout
For muscle recovery, acupuncture has shown to reduce pain from delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Acupuncture works by bringing more blood and nutrients to tight spots post-exercise, and releasing those spots before soreness kicks in. In doing so, acupuncture helps your muscles maintain a healthy length so you can continue moving through a full range of motion. Not only will you feel better, but you’ll also lessen any demand on surrounding muscles and joints; this helps decrease pain and prevent injury in the long-term.
Acupuncture may help your muscles recover faster after a workout, competition or game; a faster recovery means a quicker return to training.
How to increase endurance and stamina
One of the challenges many athletes face is being able to maintain stamina and endurance, both during training and competitions. Sports acupuncture helps to reduce stress, improve blood flow and increase one’s threshold for activity; all of which assist with promoting physical and mental endurance.
Acupuncture can also help:
Delay muscle fatigue during exercise by stimulating target nerves and muscles, and maintaining a balance of enzymes within the muscle cells.
Heart rate recovery post-workout by regulating the way the body responds to stress. Exercise is considered a stressor and it activates the neuroendocrine system to release hormones and nerve signals.
Improve aerobic activity and endurance performance. One study demonstrated that healthy people with low to moderate aerobic capacity who received acupuncture twice a week for four weeks saw significant improvements in their 3K run time compared to those who didn’t receive acupuncture.
Pre-competition anxiety
It’s normal for athletes to feel nervous or anxious before a competition. However, when left unchecked, pre-competition anxiety can lead to overwhelming negative thoughts, which can have unintended consequences for performance.
Acupuncture may offer a solution for competitive anxiety as it helps reduce stress by controlling stress hormones and downregulating the “fight-or-flight” response via the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis (HPA). It has shown to increase the production of serotonin (the happy hormone) and reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) to promote feelings of wellbeing.
A pilot study involving adolescent male football players found that acupuncture had a significant effect on reducing the physical and mental manifestations of competitive anxiety.
By relaxing the body, acupuncture may lower your anxiety and clear mental and emotional space for the competition ahead of you.
Tom Brady - Acupuncture
Tom Brady, the NFL quarterback who recently won the Superbowl, is a huge advocate of acupuncture and believes it restores pliability (muscle health and flexibility). Brady puts his peak health and ability to play at a high level (at his age) down to a rigorous self-care regime which involves regular acupuncture sessions, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and a clean, nutritious diet.
Brady nearly didn’t play in the Super Bowl in 2018 as he gashed his hand on a player’s helmet days before the AFC Championship game. The gaping wound required 25 stitches and he was told he would have to rest for the remainder of the season. Brady was back playing five days later after treating his injury with acupuncture and massage. Brady’s acupuncturist placed the acupuncture needles on his injured hand to stimulate blood flow to the area to promote healing.
Professional athletes who use acupuncture
Professional athletes from a variety of sports consider acupuncture a critical part of their training and recovery routine. Many rely on it for injury recovery, as well as keeping aches and pains at bay.
In 2010, former NFL linebacker James Farrior shared how he relied on acupuncture with The New York Times: “I’m not the same if I don’t have it. It’s like getting the game plan. You can’t go into the week without either one.”
NBA coach and former player Chauncey Billups described how acupuncture helped him recover from an Achilles injury, telling HoopsHype in 2017: “I tried it and it did work really well. It helped the swelling and took some of the pain away, so it became a weekly thing for me for a while.”
A few other professional athletes who reported using acupuncture include:
David Beckham, former professional soccer player
James Harrison, former NFL player
Amy Acuff, four-time US Olympic Track and Field athlete and licensed acupuncturist
Shaquille O’Neal, a former professional basketball player
AJ Burnett, former pitcher
Be at the top of your game with acupuncture
Improve your athletic performance, endurance and recovery using regular acupuncture. The sports-related benefits of using acupuncture are well-documented and many high-profile athletes have shared how acupuncture keeps them in peak condition. Not only does acupuncture help keep muscles strong and healthy, it can improve injury recovery time, reduce pre-game anxiety and enhance physical stamina. To use acupuncture as part of your training and recovery plan, speak to our experienced sports acupuncturists today.
Over to you
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