Acupuncture and Fitness
Posted on February 2, 2015 by Laura Hawley, Lic Ac, LCSW - No Comments
by Heather Shultz
We’re a month into the new year and many of us are feeling the effects of our 2015 resolutions, especially those of us who resolved to exercise more and watch our portion sizes. Hopefully we are feeling proud of ourselves, getting to the gym or class more days than not, eating more kale and less cookies. Some of us may be noticing some aches and pains that were not there before the new year, aching low back, sore knees, random muscle aches lasting for days from too many squats at that new fitness class (like me). Aches and pains like these can influence us to give up on our fitness resolutions. So we take an anti-inflammatory for a few days and hope that things get better, after all we’re resolving to exercise and eat better in order to feel stronger and healthier this year. We did not resolve to be in pain and take more Advil than ever in 2015! So what can we do?
Acupuncture has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation.(2) MRI studies have shown the biochemical responsible for pain reduction and the anti-inflammatory response is activated by acupuncture.(1) When joints start malfunctioning treatment with acupuncture can help break up adhesions in the connective tissue and reset neural pathways to allow optimal function to resume, and that’s just the beginning. Acupuncture can also help you achieve optimal sleep, energy levels and digestion. All these areas are important ingredients for a healthy year. This year why not plan to add acupuncture to your resolution?
