Of the 30 million children who play sports each year, 3.5 million of them experience an injury throughout the year that will result in loss of play time in the sport itself.
That’s a lot of kids who are hurt at young ages – and some of those injuries may affect them for the rest of their lives.
But is synthetic drug pain management and/or surgery the only options when it comes to healing sports injuries? Not all of the time.
Even though it’s been around for thousands of years, acupuncture is only now becoming a more popular option in western culture for treating pain and healing muscles, tendons, and joints from injury. And the good news is that it can be an excellent alternative for children (as it is with adults) who are suffering.
What to know about sports injuries and acupuncture? Let us share with you some knowledge that we have been professionally trained in and have also experienced with clients throughout the years.
- Sports injuries do not get better as we age. They actually can get much worse. If a sports injury is not healed within 2-3 weeks of the accident, acupuncture can be a next step in reducing inflammation and healing the body.
- The faster a sports injury is treated, the faster the recovery can be. Rather than wait months for an injury to heal, make an appointment within the first few days or weeks for acupuncture to support the body’s healing process.
- Acupuncture can help speed healing. Specifically, it works to decrease inflammation, loosen the muscles that are tight around the injury (as injuries have a tendency to heal tightly), and help the muscle heal correctly.
- Healing typically takes 3-4 sessions. If after this amount of acupuncture the injury is not getting better, then a scan of the injury is recommended if it hasn’t been done already. However, acupuncture is a good option to begin with if you are on the fence about whether to go the western conventional medicine route.
- Taking herbal supplements can complement the healing benefits of acupuncture. Natural anti-inflammatories such as bromelin, curcumin, boswellia, and CBD can all work like ibuprofen in squelching pain. And unlike ibuprofen, these herbs don’t just help pain, but also have healing properties that support the body’s healing mechanisms.
Although we may want to keep our children from the dangers of sports, they are a wonderful way for kids to exercise, learn independence, and gain confidence.
However, it’s important to be mindful of what to do when an injury occurs – and when it does, remember RICE:
- Rest the injury
- Ice the injury
- Compress the injury (wrap it to reduce swelling)
- Elevate the injury
If after a few days the injury is not healing and continues to be bothersome, please don’t hesitate to contact our offices for additional help.
If you live in Castle Rock, Castle Pines, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Centennial, Parker, Larkspur, Monument, Colorado Springs, or the Greater Denver Metro area and you or your children are trying to heal a sports injury, please call us at (303) 688-6698 or click here to schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation to talk with Dr. Graves about the injury and to see if acupuncture could be a beneficial option.
Don’t let an injury stop you or your children from enjoying sports – well, not if we can help it!
REFERENCES:
https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=sports-injury-statistics-90-P02787
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