THE FRUSTRATIONS OF RUNNING INJURIES
Pain, soreness or numbness of muscles, tendons and joints will affect practically everyone at some point in their lives. Whether the pain is acute, chronic or recurrent, acupuncture may be helpful in pain management and injury recovery.
Most running related injuries are due to overuse, overtraining, or a biomechanical flaw in body structure and motion. Injuries are almost a guaranteed fact of life for the recreational or competitive runner. In the quest for ultimate performance, there is a tendency to overdo things and cross the fine line between peak fitness and injury. Thus it is important to avoid “doing too much too soon.”
Some of the more common running injuries include: iliotibial band (IT band) fricition syndrome, runner’s knee, shin splints, achilles tendonitis, and plantar fascitis.
Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine have been in existence for over 3000 years. The main focus of acupuncture is to maximize health, relieve pain, maintain balance in the body and increase vitality. This is accomplished by treating the person as a whole (i.e. physical, mental and emotional), not just the injured area.
Acupuncture is modeled around a concept called ‘Yin and Yang.’ Yin and yang indicate relative health and represent balance or homeostasis in the body. For example in the autonomic nervous system Yin would be the parasympathetic system and yang, the sympathetic system.
Repetitive/overuse injuries and athletic injuries may cause pain, soreness or numbness due to obstruction of Qi (energy – pro-nounced chee) and blood circulation in the channels of the body. These channels are referred to as ‘meridians’ and are likened to the waterways of the world. The Qi energy is constantly moving through these meridians in our bodies. It is only when the Qi energy is unable to completely move through the meridians that the body will become out of balance.
Running injuries can cause the Qi energy to become blocked. An example of an acute injury that can lead to Qi blockage is the twisting an ankle while trail running. Chronic injuries are very often due to a muscle imbalance problem that offsets the biomechanical alignment of the body. Structural balance requires an equal pull by the opposing muscle groups located on each side of the joint. In an imbalanced state, there is conflict between the opposing agonist and antagonist muscle groups, which creates undue stress on the joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. This is found to be true in most of the common running injuries.
Acupuncture treatment involves the use of high quality stainless steel, pre sterilized and single use disposable needles. Acupuncture points are chosen based on the treatment outcome. The goal of treatment is two fold. The first is to open the meridian pathways enabling the Qi energy to flow. The second, to decrease inflammation, restore muscle balance and joint mobility and decrease pain.
The evaluation of musculoskeletal injuries, and in particular, running injuries involves both subjective findings (including past and present history from both a western and TCM perspective) and objective findings (including observation, evaluation of all bony landmarks and surface anatomy, range of motion testing and TCM tongue and pulse diagnosis). From these steps the practitioner can get an educated idea as to the location and reasonable possibilities for the pain. From here, the treatment plan is created. In addition to acupuncture, treatment may also include Chinese massage techniques, electro-stimulation and stretching.
Recommendations are made regarding injury prevention and maintenance. Here are some tips to consider when trying to prevent and/or avoid running related injuries: a gradual increase in mileage will have you running longer and faster, take care of the small injuries to avoid them becoming big injuries, stretch and strengthen on a regular basis, purchase shoes that are right for your feet, allow for adequate recovery between workouts, and do a proper warm up and cool down.
In my practice, I integrate east and west medicine to obtain a diagnosis and treatment plan. Life style recommendations are made where applicable. I invite you to explore this safe and effective method of pain management.
Judy Mazurin is a registered acupuncturist in Calgary, Alberta. She combines Traditional Chinese Medicine with Sports Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture, Diet and Nutrition. Judy has a B.Sc. from the University of Victoria, and completed her Chinese Medical program from the Canadian College of Acupuncture and her Chinese Medical program from the Canadian College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. She also studied acupuncture in Sri Lanka. She can be reached at 403-710-6362 or email to: judymazurin.com
