Why every single pro athlete team should have an acupuncturist doing their dry needling

Photo of Travis Kelce courtesy of Men’s Health

Dry needling for professional athletes

Dry needling has really gained a lot of popularity in the past few years. When I first started my practice, hardly anyone had heard of the term “dry needling”. 

Thirteen years later and dry needling is usually what people are looking for when they come see me.  My clients are a mixed bag of the average Joe or Jane, to athletes who play professional sports- all seeking to resolve a problem involving pain. 

What’s interesting with the pro sports players is that many of the physical therapist’s on their teams do dry needling but the individual players still seek me out. I asked why and the general consensus is that I, or acupuncturists in general, are better at it (dry needling). 

I want to be clear on what they mean by that. Any athlete I have worked with has said that I blow away the PT who does dry needling on their team. That’s because my training is completely different. I use a full body approach when treating a sports injury. I also use every tool in the Eastern Medicine Box which includes dry needling, acupuncture, motor point acupuncture, gua sha, cupping, tui na (medical massage and skeletal manipulation) and herbal medicine whether it’s topical or internal. 

Acupuncture does several things- increases circulation, releases endorphins, renews collagen, strengthens the immune system and helps relax the central nervous system. All things necessary for anybody to feel better and be able to move better. 

Dry needling is a western term used to describe the use of a needle to release a trigger point. A trigger point is often described as a ‘knot’ by most people. The technical definition is, any tight or tender nodule in a muscle.

Triggerpoints inhibit muscle and can affect the length of it too. When a muscle gets shortened because of a trigger point, it will affect whatever joint or group it’s part of. This is why athletes like dry needling so much. Releasing a trigger point can relieve pain practically instantaneously. 

There is one aspect of pain or dysfunction that isn’t talked about enough. It’s when a muscle isn’t firing due to being overworked, like in cases of pro sports athletes whose job it is to train hard. But also in people who aren’t anywhere near as active. 

In the case of someone who sits for long periods during the day doing computer work, they can develop under functioning gluteal muscles. It’s called gluteal amnesia and can cause achy lower back pain. When the gluteal muscles aren’t firing, the hip flexors are recruited to do too much of the work in walking and can cause a lot of discomfort. 

A pro athlete, like a football player or a professional ballet dancer, can also develop under functioning glutes but from overworking their muscles. 

Either way, the remedy is the same for both patients. Motor point acupuncture is best in this case. A motor point is the most excitable point of a muscle. It just means the most nervy point of a muscle. I needle into it and apply painless electric stimulation (aka e-stim) to the needle itself and it wakes that muscle up again. 

There was an article in Men’s Health magazine a while ago where Travis Kelce was interviewed about his training. In it he mentioned needing his right outer hip to fire and used a series of exercises given to him by his trainer to do so. Those exercises worked, but Travis has really great mind-body connection to be able to do that. In my 14 years of practice, hardly anyone can do that. Motor point acupuncture works like a dream in cases like that. If Travis hadn’t been able to turn that muscle back on, Motor point acupuncture would have done it for him in a matter of seconds. Followed up with exercises to continue the recruitment of those muscles and he would have been fine. 

Every professional athletic team such as NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, etc should have an acupuncturist as part of their rehabilitation team. 

Whether it’s extensive triggerpoint release, fascial release, or most importantly- quickly getting a muscle to fire back up again. This can make all the difference in winning a game.  

Motor point acupuncture can really get an athlete up and running so much faster than a series of exercises. This isn’t an argument against PT but more of a tag team effort of getting the athlete in tip top shape as fast as possible. 

Working with an acupuncturist can help keep players healthy which keeps them strong and able to train harder and recover much faster. 

Can acupuncture help me with fertility?

For many couples, the journey towards parenthood can be filled with challenges and uncertainties. Fertility issues affect many people, and the quest for effective, holistic solutions has led many to explore holistic therapies such as acupuncture. Acupuncture has gained popularity as a complementary approach that offers various benefits on the path to conception.

How Acupuncture helps with Fertility

1. Stress Reduction: Stress can have a significant impact on fertility. High levels of stress can disrupt hormonal balance and interfere with reproductive function. Acupuncture is known to promote relaxation and reduce stress, potentially creating a more conducive environment for conception.

2. Regulating Hormones: Acupuncture is believed to help regulate hormone levels, including those related to fertility. By stimulating certain points on the body, acupuncture may influence the release of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, which are vital for a healthy menstrual cycle and successful conception.

3. Improved Blood Flow: Proper blood circulation is crucial for reproductive health. Acupuncture is thought to enhance blood flow to the reproductive organs, ensuring they receive an adequate supply of nutrients and oxygen. This improved circulation may contribute to healthier eggs and sperm.

4. Balancing the Reproductive System: Acupuncture aims to restore balance in the body, including the reproductive system. By addressing imbalances, it may help optimize the conditions necessary for conception.

5. Reducing Inflammation: Chronic inflammation can negatively impact fertility. Acupuncture has been suggested to have anti-inflammatory properties, potentially reducing inflammation in the reproductive organs and improving their function.

6. Enhancing Egg Quality: Acupuncture might contribute to better egg quality by improving overall health and supporting a woman's reproductive system.

Acupuncture supports you during your pregnancy

Acupuncture is very helpful for all the aches and pains that may occur as your body changes. It’s a holistic way to treat pain, nausea and support you during your pregnancy. Acupuncture is also a natural way to turn a breech baby in hopes of avoiding a C-Section. There is roughly a 60%-80% chance of turning a breech baby with acupuncture and moxa. Moxa is an herb that is burned on a specific acupuncture point known for helping babies turn.

The Journey to Parenthood

The journey to parenthood can be challenging, but it's essential to remain patient and positive. Acupuncture offers a holistic approach that may help address some of the physical and emotional factors that can affect fertility. Individual experiences may vary, and what works for one person may not work for another.

Many couples have reported positive experiences when incorporating acupuncture into their fertility journey. It's essential to work closely with a qualified acupuncture practitioner to create a personalized plan that suits your specific needs and circumstances. Ultimately, holistic approaches like acupuncture can offer hope and support on the path to achieving your dream of parenthood when western medicine is limited.

If you are ready to start your journey, book a session today.

Buccal Facial vs Connective Tissue Massage facials

If you’re here you might have seen stories about a facial making the rounds online called Buccal Massage or it’s lesser known version- Connective Tissue Massage. Meghan Markle gets it done and whatever your personal opinons about her are, one cannot deny she has great skin. Once the press found out about her getting this massage based facial, stories about it took off. 

Simply put, it’s less of a facial and more of a skeletal muscle lifting and sculpting treatment for your face that makes you look younger without neurotoxins or harsh chemicals. Buccal massage includes intra-oral massage inside the mouth. Connective tissue does not, but in it’s own way, still ends up releasing a tight jaw and cheeks.

Having been a licensed esthetician for about 15years, once I went into private practice, I wanted to offer the kind of skincare service that I wanted if I were a client with concerns about aging skin. My past employment experience is in the medical spa world of lasers and deep chemical peels, so I know whats available besides fillers and facelifts.

The kind of facial I wanted to offer needed to do two things:

• Make me look younger 

• Help me relax 

Every single one of the services I performed at the medical spa was painful, had risks, side effects and frankly were sometimes dangerous. I wanted to offer a facial that wasn’t only relaxing but effective too especially because the lasers that I was using wasn’t making anyone look any younger. 

I decided to study connective tissue massage with a brilliant woman who travels the globe teaching all the best luxury spas this gentle yet effective facelift. This massage based facial is exactly what I was looking for both for myself and for my clients.

Do you know the term “beauty is more than skin deep”? That definitely applies to connective tissue massage facials.  While doing the training for it, I had to be the model for my partner and when she was done, I looked at myself in the mirror and was shocked at how great I looked and how my face felt! All the tension I didn’t even know I had in my face was gone and it felt like my skin got a drink of water- more on that in a bit.

Fascia or connective tissue, is the organ of tensegrity in the body.  Of course it’s not just in our body, it’s also in our face. Fascia coats every muscle, every nerve, every blood vessel and our bones including the skull. 

Connective tissue massage facials manipulate the fascia in order to rejuvenate and give the appearance of younger skin.  They are also relaxing which is a very important part of it. 

People who dismiss relaxation as an integral part of looking younger, don’t understand how the central nervous system works. This tends to be people who are addicted to doing vs being. Constantly crossing things off a to do list, always moving around, glorifying being busy and fully accepting that in order to have great skin, it has to hurt, require downtime for healing, smell really strong, peel, damage your skin or require a prescription.

Sadly this includes some of the best known beauty magazine editors- I’ve had them in my studio, they love my Revitalize Facial,  they just can’t talk about it in the magazines or podcasts because as a solo business owner, I cannot afford the millions of dollars to advertise in the magazine itself. That is a privilege that only pharmaceutical companies and large corporations can afford. The beauty industry is worth billions and they want your money at any cost. 

As a holistic therapist, it is extremely difficult to go against the propaganda of big pharma and beauty.  Thanks to TikTok, the big pharma propaganda has made it’s way to girls as young as 14 who are afraid of “aging”. At 14, they haven’t even grown up yet but they are already considering Botox for “prevention”. It’s insane.

When you are in fight or flight (parasympathetic state) a few things happen in your body. Your heart beats faster, you’re pumping adrenaline, your digestive system slows down (hello chronic constipation?) your bladder and anus tightens. 

Guess what else gets tight- your skin! Your muscles also get tight and so does your connective tissue, the fascia.  It’s an autonomic response to stress. The Revitalize facial that I offer helps you relax and puts you into rest and digest (sympathetic state). Tissues relax instead of contract in this state. 

Aesthetically speaking, over time, chronic tightness of your fascia, muscles and skin will definitely start to age you and it will show. This is why relaxation is such an important part of an effective rejuvenating treatment such as connective tissue massage in a facial. 

CLOSEUP OF FASCIAL FIBERS

If I was to take a magnifying glass to fascial fibers, you will see little beads of water on the individual fibers. As we age, this water dehydrates and that’s how wrinkles are made. An easy way to get access to more hydration in your face is to stretch and manipulate the connective tissue aka the fascia and the result is a younger looking you. It smoothes out the connective tissue and lifts your face.

my Revitalize Facial utilizes Connective Tissue Massage 

Botox and fillers can’t do that for your skin.  Paralyzing a muscle, even for the sake of vanity, is never a good thing. Muscles are supposed to move for a reason and with a connective tissue massage facial, you don’t ever need to worry about that. 

I combine it with Gua Sha, lymphatic drainage and anything else I think will help you look your best. Results are cumulative and for the longest lasting outcome, 6 treatments done once a week apart is recommended. 

Available in 60, 90 and 2hr increments.

Acupuncture for tech neck

In today's digital age, many people spend hours on their devices, leading to an increase in a condition known as "tech neck." This term refers to the strain on the neck, shoulders, and upper back that occurs from looking down at screens for prolonged periods. The good news is that acupuncture and dry needling is a great treatment for tech neck. Acupuncture can help alleviate this common problem pretty quickly.

What is Tech Neck?

Tech neck is a term used to describe the pain, stiffness, and discomfort that arises from prolonged use of mobile devices or computers. When you spend extended periods looking down at screens, it can put pressure on the neck, causing tension headaches, neck pain, and shoulder pain. The position of the head while using electronic devices creates an abnormal curve in the cervical spine, leading to misalignment and compression of the nerves and muscles.

How Acupuncture Can Help

Acupuncture is a Traditional Chinese medicine practice that involves inserting fine needles into specific points on the body. This technique has been used for thousands of years to treat various health conditions, including neck and back pain. Acupuncture can help alleviate tech neck in the following ways:

1. Reduces Muscle Tension: Acupuncture stimulates the release of endorphins, which are natural painkillers produced by the body. Endorphins help to reduce muscle tension and promote relaxation, which can help alleviate pain and discomfort in the neck, shoulders, and upper back.

2. Improves Blood Flow: Acupuncture helps to improve blood flow to the affected area, which can help reduce inflammation and promote healing. Increased blood flow also helps to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the affected muscles, which can help speed up the healing process.

3. Restores Balance: Acupuncture helps to restore the balance of energy in the body. This technique involves identifying and treating the underlying cause of the problem, rather than just addressing the symptoms. By restoring balance to the body, acupuncture can help alleviate pain and discomfort in the neck, shoulders, and upper back.

4. Non-Invasive: Unlike other treatments for tech neck, such as surgery or medication, acupuncture is non-invasive and has no side effects. This makes it a safe and effective option for those who want to avoid surgery or medication.

In conclusion, tech neck is a common problem that affects many people in today's digital age. However, acupuncture is an effective treatment option that can help restore your posture by alleviating pain, stiffness, and discomfort in the neck, shoulders, and upper back. By reducing muscle tension, improving blood flow, restoring balance, and being non-invasive, acupuncture can provide relief without the need for surgery or medication. If you are suffering from tech neck, consider trying acupuncture as a safe and effective treatment option.

Acupuncture for bursitis pain

I called a Dr’s office yesterday to make an appointment for myself and the receptionist was really chatty. I didn’t mind, it was my day off so we chatted a little and she happened to mention that she had hip bursitis. I asked her if she ever had acupuncture for it and she said no, that she didn’t know that was something acupuncture could help with. She had only gotten steroid injections and they didn’t do anything to help. She’s been dealing with the pain for 2 years and PT wasn’t helpful either.

Acupuncture can help heal hip bursitis

I’ve treated hip bursitis pain for many years. How quickly recovery is depends on a person’s age, activity level and how they possibly got the hip bursitis pain in the first place.

What is hip bursitis?

Around each of our joints we have these little fluid filled sacs called bursa. When the muscles that are attached to the hip joint, get really tight or have trigger points in them, the bursae get really irritated and inflamed- that’s the pain you feel.

The reason why this happens could mostly be because of prolonged sitting. I get it, you have to sit for work but it would be beneficial for you to do some kind of stretching or just get on the floor and move your body in any other way that doesn’t mimic sitting. Twist, bend, extend, reach and breathe deeply everyday. Your body needs it.

Another way this can happen is to side sleepers. Chronically sleeping on the same side without a pillow to support your hips can lead to hip bursitis pain.

Can acupuncture or dry needling help hip bursitis?

Yes it definitely can. If the bursitis happens in someone with a high level of athleticism, then most likely acupuncture and dry needling will pretty much take care of it by releasing all the tight fascia and triggerpoints.

However, if you are someone who sits a lot and doesn’t strength train, then acupuncture and dry needling are still necessary to restore the easy glide of the tissues again. You will need physical therapy afterwards to help retrain those muscles or else the same thing will happen again. I want to be clear that lack of strength is the problem so if you get acupuncture or dry needling and don’t follow up with strength training, you can’t say that acupuncture didn’t work. Each modality plays a role in healing and acupuncture or dry needling improves circulation, restores fascial glide, can provide huge pain relief (which is why people love dry needling so much) but it can’t strengthen an entire group of muscles.

Hip pain that goes down the side of the leg

One of the muscles involved in hip bursitis pain is the Tensor Fasciae Latae, or TFL for short. TFL trigger points and tightness can cause pain in the hip joint area and front/side portion of the thigh and be felt as far as the knee. This pain can feel like deep hip pain which can be further aggravated by walking or laying down on the affected side.

Another clue is what I call a teeter totter walk. Someone who slightly bends side to side when they walk can have TFL weakness causing bursitis. The TFL isn’t the only muscle involved that needs acupuncture treatment but it’s usually the one causing the most pain.

I recommended the receptionist get acupuncture for her hip and I hope she does because I’ve seen it help so many of my own patients finally resolve this painful issue.

If you’re ready to treat the root cause of your hip bursitis pain click below:

Acupuncture for Piriformis Syndrome

Dry needling for Piriformis Syndrome

If you have Piriformis syndrome, then you probably already know what a pain in the butt it can be. I’m sure you want to know if acupuncture or dry needling can help and yes it absolutely can.

In fact, I recommend getting acupuncture over foam rolling or using massage balls for this. While I’m all for everyone doing some foam rolling or getting massages every now and again, by the time you have sciatic nerve pain or SI joint pain, it’s usually due to a Piriformis that’s tight and weak. Weak muscles shouldn’t be stretched or foam rolled.

The problem is you won’t know when a muscle on you is tight because it’s weak vs tight because of overuse. So, if you are having chronic sciatic nerve pain, or an uptick in pain, it’s best to come in and get assessed and treated with acupuncture and/or dry needling.

If you are an athlete, or someone who is very active, or a weightlifter please don’t mistake the term “weak” muscle as in someone who is lazy. I know young, active, people who are very athletic but have to sit or stand for hours at times for work and that could be part of why the weakness occurs. Piriformis syndrome can happen to anybody regardless of age or athleticism.

Signs and symptoms of Piriformis Syndrome

The Piriformis looks like two separate muscles but it’s actually just one with the tailbone in between it. The Sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body and when the piriformis gets tight, it compresses that nerve sending pain down the back of the buttock and down the back or down the side of the leg. Foam rolling or using a massage ball can further compress the nerve and result in more pain.

To recap, signs and symptoms of Piriformis Syndrome are:

• Numbness, pain or tingling going down the back of the leg or side of the leg

• Lots of discomfort when sitting, leading you to shift in your seat a lot

• Can force you to slow down when walking or running

• May or may not experience some urinary incontinence

See an Orthopedic doctor first if the pain, numbness or tingling goes down both your legs at the same time, especially if accompanied by issues with bowel and urinary incontinence.

Twisted body causing chronic pain

I feel like my body is twisted

It’s frustrating going to doctor after doctor and not getting an answer for what’s wrong with you. Why you are in so much pain and why it’s been going on for so long so I write this hoping that I can help at least one person out there.

One day a patient came in reporting pain going from her neck to her shoulder, her hip, her buttocks, and her ankle all on one side. Being in her 20’s, she is very active and likes to do Peleton almost daily and workouts with a personal trainer twice a week. I asked what they do at the gym and she mentioned deadlifting, lunges and squats along with some upper body work with dumbells.

I did some muscle tests and didn’t find any glaring weaknesses but after palpating (feeling the tissues) for triggerpoints, I noticed that her body was twisted. Specifically, her hips were twisted and I said it out loud and she responded “I FEEL twisted!”

She had been to several doctors and physical therapists but she felt worse and decided to come in and give acupuncture a shot. I knew exactly what was wrong and I proceeded to treat it.

She had triggerpoints deep in her hips and her sacrum (tailbone) was stuck. This is why I always recommend seeing an acupuncturist over physical therapists for dry needling. I do lots of dry needling, I just call it triggerpoint release, because that’s really what it is. This was a case where I had to use both acupuncture meridian points and not just release triggerpoints aka ‘dry needle’.

In her case, it took two treatments and I recommended she stop deadlifting at the gym and focus on core exercises. I know once she gets better at stabilizing her core, she can get back to deadlifting and more intense exercises.

Another client came in a couple months ago with the same issue. In this case, she told me she was hypermobile and the pain was clearly unbearable. She had the same thing going on and I was able to treat it. In her case, strength training is going to be a lifelong commitment. I like pilates for this because of the mind/muscle connection.

Twisted pelvis

It isn’t as simple as this, but the common thread I find in people who are twisted is a very tight piriformis. Over time, a tight pirformis can lead to the tissue surrounding the sacrum (tailbone) getting tight and stuck. It’s not as simple as stretching it out, especially if someone is hypermobile. You will need the release that only comes from an acupuncture needle to get those fascial tissues gliding better again.

My guess is that this can happen in people who sit for long periods of time, leading to weakness in the gluteal muscles. If someone has weak gluteal muscles and/or a weak pelvic floor, then they do something like deadlifts or lift heavy boxes at work, this twist can happen.

Once the acupuncture and dry needling are done, working with a physical therapist and/or a skilled pilates instructor or personal trainer is strongly recommended.