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2010 / NO.3
2010 / NO.3
Chapter on Sports and Rehabilitation - Electro-Acupuncture More Effective for Sports-Related Muscle Injury

    Muscle comprises numerous long, thin, cylindrical striated muscle cells. The starting and ending points of the muscle are directly connected to the bone or attached to the bone via a tendon to support human postures and different skeletal movements in sports and everyday life. Sports-related muscle injuries not only greatly impact athletes’ daily training and competitiveness but seriously affect our work and life. Hence, the treatment for muscle injury has now gained increased attention. Depending on the nature of the injury, curative methods differ, with curing time and recovery progress varying from case to case. In particular, for injuries at the starting and ending points of core muscles and large muscle groups - where the injured parts are located in relatively deeper layers or at the endpoints with inadequate blood supply - the recovering process is slower.

    Clinical practices have found that electro-acupuncture exerts extremely noticeable therapeutic effects on acute and chronic muscle injury. This is because electro-acupuncture applied to pain points may change the microcirculation of the soft tissue of the injured area. This, in turn, stimulates the absorption of inflammatory exudates and algesic substances. At the same time, the electrical stimulation of acupuncture needles at different frequencies promotes the secretion of endogenous morphine-like substances such as enkephalin and dynorphin, heightening the body’s pain threshold and thereby increasing patients’ pain tolerance.  

Specific treatments comprise:
1. Treating the acupoints along the meridians and Ashi acupoints, in conjunction with the Jing acupoints along the meridians, for improved results.
2. Acupuncture together with an electro-acupuncture device and specific electromagnetic waves may enhance curative effects.