Acupuncture treatment for athletes
I can help you get the most out of your training, so that your performance is the best it can be.
Tennis elbow, tweaked back, knee pain, arthritis, tight neck and traps, limited shoulder range of motion, plantar fasciitis, hip bursitis, sciatica, Achilles tendonitis… I see clients with a whole array of body aches and pains. The goal is to keep my clients doing the sport or activity they want, as well as they can.
I get it. As an athlete, I understand how important it is to train well, to heal quickly from injury, enhance recovery, and to not get hit hard with colds. Athletic performance is influenced by sleep quality, digestive capability, strength of the immune system, and the state of the autonomic nervous system. Acupuncture and herbal medicine (if desired, and appropriate) can positively influence all of these realms, keeping you doing what you love, and improving performance readiness.
I work with all athletes, from teens to those in their 70s, competitive and recreational.
Acupuncture optimizes athletic performance. It can:
- Shift the nervous system into parasympathetic dominance, improving heart rate variability, a measure of training readiness.
- Improve blood flow via vasodilation.
- Activate the hypothalamus, pituitary, and other endocrine glands to balance hormone levels.
- Regulate nitric oxide.
- Beneficially alter production of neurotransmitters and neurohormones.
- Improve immune system functioning by enhancing immune cytokines, interferon, interleukin, and T cells.
Chinese herbal medicine can also improve athletic performance.
Many herbal products touted to improve athletic performance are simplistic, with the potential to create imbalance over the long term, and possibly real damage. Please be careful with self-prescribing from internet so-called experts who are not certified herbalists. The herbal formulas I prescribe are individualized to you, optimizing your unique constitution, nourishing from the root. The result is both gentle and powerful. It’s gentle in that it doesn’t create additional health issues; powerful in that it improves stamina and physical resiliency. I am a nationally Board certified herbalist with 20 years of experience, and my patients trust and value my expertise in formulating customized herbal formulas.
I understand athletic performance.
I rowed competitively in high school in Madison, WI, and for three years on the U.S. Junior National Team, competing internationally. At Harvard University, I rowed all four years, and was co-captain my senior year. I then stopped rowing for 22 years.
During that time, I exercised to stay fit: running, indoor cycling, CrossFit and power lifting, power Vinyasa yoga. I also consistently received regular acupuncture treatments every 2 to 3 weeks, as I still do today. In 2014, I started rowing again, after that 22-year hiatus, and almost immediately was breaking age group records, even though I hadn’t exercised consistently in the pregnancy and baby years shortly before.
I believe regular acupuncture treatments helped keep my body performance ready.
In my early fifties, with kids, a business, family and household obligations, I must train smart and strategically. I’m not perfect. I do what I can to take care of myself, but I also don’t sleep enough, and my nutrition could be better.
Regular acupuncture and periodic use of custom Chinese herbal formulas help keep my body operating well, even when my world isn’t. I understand the importance of exercise and sport in life and enjoy helping my patients stay on top of their game.
“I started seeing Kristi four years ago.
I am active, play competitive tennis, workout hard at CrossFit, run, and play golf. I periodically have bad bouts of low back pain that can debilitate me for a week or more, and also had fairly chronic elbow pain and neck and shoulder tightness. I initially went to Kristi during a back flare-up.
Two acupuncture treatments fixed that, and got me back to the court and the gym. I really liked that she didn’t make me feel bad for wanting to keep exercising. I felt so good after the treatments that I kept seeing Kristi for acupuncture since then, about every 3 weeks. I have two young kids, now in daycare, who are sick a lot, and I had been catching their colds, feeling more run down than I’d like. I started taking a custom herb formula that she prescribed for me, and was amazed to sail through that first winter practically unscathed. My body felt better, and I did too. I now have more energy, feel more rested, and her acupuncture treatments keep my back, elbow, and neck so much more comfortable. I take the herbs when I need them. I look forward to my acupuncture and am so thankful to have found a relaxing and easy form of treatment that keeps me feeling strong. Kristi is excellent!” — John E.