Acupuncture for Athletes

Vancouver 2010 -- me doing acupuncture on mascot Sumi

The 2012 Olympics start today. Very exciting as we get to watch men and women perform amazing feats that they’ve trained so hard to accomplish. As I watch the opening ceremonies, I remember the feeling of participating in and of cheering for our athletes at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Some of the athletes–and mascots :)– are helped by acupuncture. A study at the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine showed that athletes who had acupuncture after running 5000m recovered more quickly than those who were not treated.

“Research has reported that properly prescribed acupuncture can decrease heart rate and increase stroke volume leading to a more efficient cardiac output. ”

Another study showed that those receiving acupuncture were able to lift more weight and exercise longer. They also had lower heartrates and were able to accelerate faster.

You may not be striving to be in the Olympics, but wouldn’t you like to be able to perform better in your everyday life? Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can help with that!