West Palm Beach Chiropractor: Runner’s Lower Extremity Injuries Acupuncture Can Help

Runners participating in sports have shown positive outcomes from acupuncture interventions. Acupuncture isn’t just for pain management.  Indeed, acupuncture helps you with injury repair and recover faster. Ultimately, acupuncture gives you the extra ability to achieve peak performance. West Palm Beach Chiropractor: Runner’s Lower Extremity Injuries Acupuncture Can Help is about just that.

Acupuncture has been used for over 4000 years to treat pain and other health problems. The acupuncture treatment stimulates the imbalanced pathways along the meridians to bring balance back.  Mainly, the goal is to activate the body’s natural healing abilities and bring balance back to your body. It’s often used as part of a broader approach to healthcare.

Every athlete is different and so treatments are different for everyone.   For example, an athlete with digestion issues will not get the same treatments as someone with hormonal issues or allergies. Indeed, Acupuncture enhances peak oxygen levels, maximum heart rate, delayed-onset muscle soreness, pain, swelling, explosive force production, and joint mobility. Furthermore, the efficacy of acupuncture appears to be similar regardless of age and sex.

Athletes may also use acupuncture immediately before or after a major event. And then as part of the recovery phase afterward. 

 3 common runner’s lower extremity injuries acupuncture can help

1. Achilles Tendonitis

The achilles tendon is a very large tendon which connects the gastronemius and soleus (calf muscles) to your calcaneus (heel bone).

The Achilles tendon is covered by a peritenon (connective tissue sheath surrounding a tendon) composed of mainly areolar tissue (fatty tissue) which functions as a cushion.  The area most affected in tendinitis is approximately 2 cm proximal (close) to the calcaneal insertion (heel attachment). The demands on the tendon are high in running and jumping.

Next, at the heel insertion (attachment site) there can be a complicating problem. The retrocalcaneal bursa (small cushioning sac between the heel bone and the achilles tendon) can get irritated.  Eventually, this may lead to a Haglund’s deformity (bony enlargement found on the back of the heel).

Common symptoms of achilles tendonitis include a dull pain above your heel, swelling along the tendon, or a limited range of motion when you try to flex your foot toward your shin.

Acupuncture can be part of your treatment for an Achilles tendon injury right away when you begin to feel pain. Otherwise, the risk of rupturing it increases.  Then you will need surgery and months of recovery will delay your training and running.

2. “Runner’s Knee”

Runner’s Knee is also called patellofemoral syndrome or chondromalacia patella.  It is seen in various athletes, but most commonly seen among runners. You may have anterior (front) knee pain. However, your knee pain may be found behind, in and around your patella (knee cap) as well. It may be vague aching pain that is aggravated by going up and down stairs. Moreover, there may be associated crepitus (cracking or grating) and knee pain going through any squatting maneuver. 

Certainly, biomechanical (study of living body) abnormalities can lead to an erosion and fragmentation of the sub patellar (beneath kneecap) cartilage. This breaking up of the patella articular cartilage due to repetitious stress leads to chondromalacia.  So patella tracking problems can occur primarily from injuries to the knee and quadriceps (group of four muscles that cover the front and sides of your thighs) mechanism.  And it can secondarily be in response to problems affecting the ankle or hip. Your chiropractor certified in acupuncture can diagnose your knee problem, assess and realign your spine, hip, knee and ankle. Next, an acupuncture treatment can be rendered for healing.

3. Hamstring Strain or Adductor Strain/Sprain (Groin Pull)

Perhaps you were running, sprinting or jumping and you over contracted the hamstrings while in a position of stretch?  You may be a runner who feels a sudden pull or pop at the back of the thigh following a forceful knee extension maneuver?

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that run along the back of your thigh. They allow you to bend your leg at the knee. Tendons and aponeurosis (a sheet of pearly white fibrous tissue) connect the muscles with the structures (i.e. bones ) to be moved. Strains (injury to muscle) of  hamstrings occurs most often at the junction of the muscle and aponeurosis.

Perhaps you were sprinting or jumping and felt a sudden pulling sensation in the groin that was incapacitating?  The adductors are a group of muscles on the inside of your thigh. So a sprain is an injury to the ligaments, a fibrous connective tissue that attaches bone to bone, and usually serves to hold structures together. And the cause of an adductor sprain (injury to ligaments) is often a sudden contraction from a stretched position.

While ice and rest from the inciting activity are a start.  And you may try a drug for fast pain relief for the moment. This is not a long term solution. Get your acupuncture treatment if it’s not getting better. 

Acupuncture  Research