Sports injuries are common, and vary from minor toe injuries to major complex trauma. Usually, only soft tissue is damaged, but there can also be fracturing of bone. Soft tissue injuries include sprains, strains and bruising. A sprain is a partial or complete rupture of a ligament, a strain is a partial tear of muscles and a bruise is a rupture of tissue leading to a haematoma. Any soft-tissue injury can lead to a tenderness, swelling, haematoma, scarring, fibrosis and loss of function.
How acupuncture can help:
acupuncture reduced pain in patients with plantar fasciitis (Zhang 2001);
electroacupuncture had better therapeutic effects than medication, both in the short and long term, in patients with acute lumbar strain (Yao-chi 2007);
acupuncture plus warmed needle relieved the pain of chondromalacia patella (Qui 2006);
acupuncture reduced NSAID intake and relieved pain in patients with shin splints (Callison 2002);
acupuncture reduced the pain of patellofemoral pain syndromes (Jensen 1999);
acupuncture was effective for soft tissue disease (Yuan 1989).
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