By Craig Smith

Nottinghamshire CCC physio

Alternative therapy, or if you like, eastern medicine, is definitely on the up in today's world of professional sport.

Therapies such as acupuncture and dry needling, homeopathy, acupressure, trigger point therapy and Reiki are regularly used as alternative therapies to treat sports injuries.

And exercise regimes such as Yoga and Pilates are also being included in sportsmen's training programmes to give them the edge when it comes to fitness, flexibility, strength and conditioning.

So what exactly are these alternative techniques all about?

The face has a number of special points

1. Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a very old form of Chinese therapy.

It uses fine needles to treat illness and injury and maintain the overall well being of the body.

The Chinese believe that our health is dependent on the body's energy flow or Qi (pronounced chi).

In a healthy body, there is a smooth, uninterrupted flow of this energy around the body.

The body's natural energy flow (or Qi) is also made up of equal and opposite energies - the Yin and Yang.

If these two energy flows become disturbed or unbalanced, this can present itself as an illness or injury.

Acupuncture therapy involves inserting fine needles into various parts of the body's energy channels.

These needles help to put right the flow of energy around the body and kickstart the body's own healing response.

So for instance, one needle may be placed in the left big toe, another on the inside of the left knee, another in the top of your head and another one at the base of your left thumb.

The needles then link up the body's flow of energy to focus healing the injury.

Acupuncture opens up the body's energy flow channels to the injured or recovering areas.

Enhancing the circulation will bring more blood and oxygen to the area and help the healing tissues recover quicker and stronger during the rehabilitation period.

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Acupuncture

Yoga

Pilates

Did you know?

Acupuncture has been used in China for over 3000 years

Does it hurt?

Acupuncture should only be done by a qualified expert If done properly, it shouldn't hurt much because the needles are really fine, unlike most injection needles If you're scared of needles, you can try Acupressure, which uses fingers to massage certain points in the body

FROM THE BBC >>
::	BBC Health - Acupunture

INTERNET LINKS >>
::	British Acupuncture Council
::	The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
::	Nottinghamshire CCC
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