Whether you are an elite athlete or a weekend warrior taking your sport of choice seriously, every practice, every competition, and every training session or practice is likely aimed at perfection. But when you get sidelined by injury, your whole world can change quickly. If you are curious to see how an athlete might make use of this modality, check out George Kittle, “The People’s Tight End” in the sports documentary, Receivers, on Netflix, as he receives treatment from Alameda Acupuncture’s, Dr. Jenny Nieters.
Top athletes incorporate sports acupuncture as part of their recovery and performance programming.
Acupuncture in Sports Medicine
Acupuncture, an ancient practice rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), involves the insertion of fine, sterile needles into specific points on the body. Acupuncture supports athletic performance in three main ways, injury recovery, promoting healthy movement patterns, and parasympathetic activation which supports sleep, digestion and stress. TCM philosophy requires looking at the whole person, considering training, managing load and adapting to stressors.
Western medicine explains acupuncture’s effects in more physiological terms: needling these points can stimulate nerves, muscles, and connective tissue, boost blood flow, and trigger the body’s natural painkillers like endorphins and serotonin. TCM used different language to describe the same phenomenon by carefully observing function (Yang) and form (Yin), and for thousands of years has tracked the various ways in which form and function can get off track and how each point on the body can be evaluated and noted how treatment can impact physiological function and restore vitality. One type of acupuncture has become particularly in popular in the world of athletics. Although it was described in writing thousands of years ago, in the last 100 years, it has become the darling of the Western medical world and is particularly useful for athletic performance. This is the acupuncture technique than many people now call “Dry Needling.” A thin needle is inserted into a tender painful spot on the body, usually in a muscle belly. This technique is often used when a “tight knot” or trigger point is causing pain, or restricting range of motion, or even causing weakness all of which can impact athletic performance. Treating this “trigger point” can be a useful treatment strategy. TCM explains the same physiology and pathophysiology using different terminology as the system was developed in a different culture and has been in continuous practice for thousands of years. However this is a fantastic time to practice this medicine as there are over 50,000 citations on pubmed.gov studying the effects and seeking to explain the mechanisms of acupuncture. Most people seek out acupuncture to support health and wellness. In the sports performance world, people seek out acupuncture to do extraordinary things far outside the bounds of what is reasonable or “healthy.” Athletes will make use of any biohacking technique, old or new to have a competitive edge.
Professional sports teams across the NBA, NFL, and MLB use many modalities to support their teams, including hiring licensed acupuncturists. Acupuncture can play a part in injury prevention and also impact return to play timelines.
The Benefits of Acupuncture for Sports Injuries
Managing pain is a critical part of sports injury recovery. Traditional painkillers, like opioids or NSAIDs, come with risks of side effects or dependency. Acupuncture offers an alternative. One NFL player, when asked by Dr. Jenny Nieters, why he started coming twice a week for treatment in year two, after only coming for treatment sporadically in his first year, said “I didn’t realize you could play football without pain.”
Research shows acupuncture can significantly reduce pain levels for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, including strains, sprains, and tendonitis. The therapy works by:
- Stimulating endorphin release
- Reducing inflammation
- Modulating pain signals in the brain and spinal cord
- Promoting healthy movement patterns
- Supporting postural integrity which can lead to injury prevention
- Parasympathetic nervous system upregulation, which supports healthy sleep, stress management, digestive function and immune function
After an injury, managing inflammation and increasing blood flow are key elements of the body’s healing response. Acupuncture has been found to modulate the inflammatory response, helping to prevent chronic inflammation that can stall recovery while increasing blood flow which brings nutrients to support regeneration of damaged tissue.
This effect is particularly beneficial for conditions like:
- Tendonitis
- Bursitis
- Plantar fasciitis
- Post-surgical swelling
By controlling inflammation, acupuncture ensures that healing continues smoothly without prolonged discomfort.
Many sports injuries, particularly involving joints and muscles, result in stiffness and reduced mobility. Acupuncture can help by:
- Relaxing tight muscles
- Scar tissue
- Stimulating nerves to reeducate muscle memory and improve neural drive
Athletes recovering from surgeries like ACL reconstruction often find acupuncture helps them regain flexibility and strength faster when combined with physical therapy.
Injury doesn’t just impact the body, it affects the mind, too. Depression, anxiety, and fear of re-injury are common among sidelined athletes. Acupuncture’s calming effect on the nervous system, specifically by reducing cortisol (the “stress hormone”) and boosting serotonin and dopamine, helps ease the emotional toll of recovery.
Common Sports Injuries Treated with Acupuncture
Some of the sports injuries most commonly treated with acupuncture include:
- Sprains and strains (ankles, wrists, hamstrings)
- Tendinopathies (Achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow)
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Lower back pain, sprain, tension
- Knee injuries (runner’s knee, ACL injuries)
- Shin splints
- Muscle tears (strains)
In many cases, acupuncture is used alongside other therapies like physiotherapy, massage, and rehabilitation exercises for an integrated approach to healing.
What an Acupuncture Session Might Looks Like
Our acupuncturists are trained in sports acupuncture. They will first conduct a detailed assessment, asking about the nature of the injury, pain levels, and any related symptoms. They will then choose modalites, such as acupuncture, electrical stimulation, cupping, scraping, manual therapy, dietary therapy, possible lab tests. If acupuncture is part of the treatment, they will insert thin needles into appropriate areas to address the athletes goals for the session, based on the results of the orthopedic assessments.
All treatment is dosed based on an athletes specific goals, training schedule and injury stage. Some athletes come for a specific issue and feel “one and done”. Some athletes prefer to have treatment as frequently as 4-6 days per week in season. For example, a running prepping for the Boston Marathon in 2025, had a lateral knee pain that was determined to be a tight iliotibial band, resulting from an inhibited gluteus medius on the affected side and a lack of mobility in the sacroiliac joint in the opposite side. Three treatments in the month before the the race, to treat the underlying movement dysfunction, while training and managing load resolved the issue for that athlete.
A sports acupuncturist is trained to coordinate care with the team that is supporting the athlete, ie coaches, training staff, massage therapists, physical therapists, personal trainers etc.
Safety Considerations
When performed by a licensed, trained professional, acupuncture is considered extremely safe. The State of California is interested in consumer safety. Here are some excerpts from the State of California’s Laws and Regulations Relating to the Practice of Acupuncture:
“Acupuncture” means the stimulation of a certain point or points on or near the surface of the body by the insertion of needles to prevent or modify the perception of pain or to normalize physiological functions, including pain control for the treatment of certain diseases or dysfunctions of the body, and includes the techniques of electroacupuncture, cupping, and moxibustion.
Education Requirements: A California Licensed Acupuncturist is required to have completed a minimum of 3000 hour curriculum including 950 hours of supervised clinical training.
Per California law states for any person who does not hold a current and valid license to practice acupuncture can be subject to both of a fine and imprisonment. Any person, other than a physician and surgeon, a dentist, or a podiatrist, who is not licensed under this article, who practices acupuncture involving the application of a needle to the human body, performs any acupuncture technique or method involving the application of a needle to the human body, or directs, manages, or supervises another person in performing acupuncture involving the application of a needle to the human body is guilty.
Minor side effects, like slight bruising or temporary soreness, can occur but are rare. It’s important to disclose any medications, health conditions, or ongoing treatments to the acupuncturist to ensure a coordinated and safe approach to care. Could the secret weapon in your injury recovery toolkit be a tiny, powerful needle?
