How Chinese Medicine Can Help Heal Sports Injuries
By Sally Perkins
Chinese freeski champion Gu Ailing won gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 – and she attributed part of her victory to Chinese medicine. At just 18 years old, this major accomplishment for Ailing does not just showcase her talent as a skier, but also the powerful results that Chinese medicine can bring about when used in the right way. Modern-day athletes can benefit greatly from Chinese medicinal practice, whether used alone or in conjunction with more westernized remedies.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Ailing is fortunate enough to have an entire team of Sichuan Zheng-style orthopedics behind her to help strengthen the body and prevent injuries from occurring. Orthopedic team leader Zhu Jiangwei uses traditional Sichuan Zheng practices to guide the body with functional exercises, training, and injury prevention. The Sichuan Zheng approach to Chinese medicine is thousands of years old and entails using ancient methods of acupuncture, moxibustion, and massage.
These methods are designed to stimulate blood flow, strengthen the internal organs, and dissolve energetic stagnation. This enables athletes like Ailing to expend more energy over time and creates internal stability that prevents injuries from taking place. According to media reports, the young skier claims, “my back has never felt so good”, even after the spectacular performance she put on during the Olympics.
Chinese medicine always focuses on the potential for healing, regardless of how obstinate the injury or illness might be. Through these processes, Chinese medicine practitioners like Jiangwei can support even the most active and high-performing bodies from a more holistic perspective.
Calming Nerves With Ancient Herbs
The nervous system plays a significant role in the modalities of traditional Chinese medicine. While Ailing’s championship required her to focus more on the practical components of injury prevention and muscle strengthening, the use of ancient herbs is otherwise very prevalent in Chinese medicine.
Traditional healers will use a wide variety of different herbs, roots, barks, and flowers to support the nervous system as well as the bones, organs, and energy – or chi. Calming down nerves is just one of the benefits that these natural medicines can offer when utilized correctly. Staying calm and focused is crucial for any sportsperson and having access to traditional medicine that assists with this is a major advantage.
Ginseng is one of the most commonly used roots in Chinese medicine, used to aid digestion, enhance brain function, and fight adrenal fatigue. The use of traditional Chinese herbs has been found by several studies to alleviate cortisol levels, boost immunity, and promote the production of feel-good chemicals that support both the body and mind.
A Return To Traditions
As more professional athletes like Ailing speak openly about their reliance on traditional Chinese medicine and practices, people from all over the world become aware of the deep healing potential that it possesses.
Chinese medicine is becoming increasingly popular amongst athletes and sports enthusiasts who are craving a more holistic approach to injury prevention and treatment. Any athlete seeking integrative treatment for musculoskeletal injuries, blood flow, and systemic energy release can benefit from the therapeutic qualities of traditional Chinese medicine.
Featured image by Monicore on Pexels
What Do Physical Therapists Do?
Whether you suffer from daily soreness or got an injury, it's a good idea to hire a physical therapist.
Think about how your body will heal much quicker when you have a professional attend to your
inflamed areas. It'll work wonders for your recovery. Here are some things that physical therapists do.
Help You Prevent Sports Injuries
Physical therapists can help you stay at your athletic peak. When you overtrain or constantly compete
at a high level, it takes a toll on your body. Your body becomes more prone to injury because it doesn't
have enough time to recover between the meets, practices, and individual training sessions.
A physical therapist can see what areas of your body need the most help. If you're playing basketball,
it's easy to tweak your ankles from jumping. Also, you may tear a knee ligament from a quick pivot to
the basket.
A therapist can provide you with reliable strength and stability exercises to keep your muscles from
ripping. Not to mention, the stability exercises will increase your flexibility to help you stay limber
while you get into your athletic mode. It may enhance your explosiveness and balance as you get into a
pocket.
Provides Injury Rehab
When you have a severe injury, it's hard to recover just from surgery. Sometimes physical therapy may
help you avoid going under the knife or make it a better process. If you start doing therapeutic
exercises before surgery, it can get your body in a faster healing state.
You'll appreciate the quicker recovery road from your physical therapy sessions. These specialists help
you start to retain your range of motion. When you've been in a cast for months, your injured body
parts become stiff.
A therapist can show you some beginner exercises that you can do at your pace to help you start to
regain mobility to your damaged areas. Also, they will help you come up with a program that suits your
needs. If you play sports or train for marathons, they can create a routine to help you gradually get back
to peak condition.
Slow Down Aging
While we can't prevent getting older, we can slow down how it affects us mentally and physically.
Getting physiotherapy can help you stay nimble as you age. Elders often get arthritis and other forms of
inflammation because of age and lack of movement.
They also understand that after years of sitting down at a desk job, it may cause permanent neck and
back pain. They'll create stretches and exercises to help you get your posture under control. Not to
mention, they know good flexibility exercises that can match your physical condition.
It might be time for you to get an ergonomic workspace to help make things more comfortable and give
you better neck and back support to help prevent damage to your body.
The ideal physical therapist can help you in different areas to ensure that you have an active lifestyle for the long term.
Featured image photo by Damir Spanic on Unsplash