Abstract

Research Article

The Utility of Acupuncture in Sports Medicine: A Review of the Recent Literature

Michael Malone*

Published: 17 March, 2017 | Volume 2 - Issue 1 | Pages: 020-027

Introduction: Acupuncture is a practice that has been used to treat multiple medical conditions for thousands of years and is one of the most popular alternative treatments applied in Western medical practice. Acupuncture is a modality that has significant potential for further integration into the treatment of sports medicine conditions.

Methodology: The search strategy in this review included electronic databases-MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct. Randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews were preferred for article inclusion, but other study types were included when the number or quality of evidence was limited.

Results: Back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, and knee pain related to OA tend to respond well to acupuncture treatment. There is evidence to support the use of acupuncture for the short-term treatment of plantar fasciitis, although long-term efficacy data is lacking. Acupuncture may be a useful treatment modality for epicondylitis and Achilles tendinopathy, but the current data is limited. While acupuncture may improve athletic performance and prevent Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) symptoms, there is little current evidence to support this use.

Conclusion: Further studies are needed to assess the usefulness of acupuncture in sports medicine. However, there is good evidence for the current use of acupuncture in treatment of multiple pain conditions.

Read Full Article HTML DOI: 10.29328/journal.jsmt.1001004 Cite this Article Read Full Article PDF

Keywords:

Acupuncture; Sports medicine; Review

References

  1. Yang C, Lee E, Hwang EH, Kwon O, Lee JH. Management of Sport Injuries with Korean Medicine: A Survey of Korean National Volleyball Team. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016; 8639492. Ref.: https://goo.gl/Pp0zjr
  2. Bell AE, Falconi A. Acupuncture for the Treatment of Sports Injuries in an Austere Environment. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2016; 15: 111-115. Ref.: https://goo.gl/c3tNcP
  3. Ebell MH, Siwek J, Weiss BD, Woolf SH, Susman J, et al. Strength of recommendation taxonomy (SORT): a patient-centered approach to grading evidence in the medical literature. Am Fam Physician. 2004; 69: 548-556. Ref.: https://goo.gl/mqgzcZ
  4. Ehrlich D, Haber P. Influence of acupuncture on physical performance capacity and haemodynamic parameters. Int J Sports Med. 1992; 13: 486-491. Ref.: https://goo.gl/5QEDbL
  5. Benner S, Benner K. Improved performance in endurance sports through acupuncture. Sportverletz Sportschaden. 2010; 24: 140-143. Ref.: https://goo.gl/MAztcs
  6. Ahmedov S. Ergogenic effect of acupuncture in sport and exercise: a brief review. J Strength Cond Res. 2010; 24: 1421-1427. Ref.: https://goo.gl/BwTbmq
  7. Nascimento RC, Hossri CA, Berwanger O, Carvalho VO. Acupuncture and exercise capacity: a case report. Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2012; 67: 193-194. Ref.: https://goo.gl/PwoCPj
  8. Hübscher M, Vogt L, Ziebart T, Banzer W. Immediate effects of acupuncture on strength performance: a randomized, controlled crossover trial. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010; 110: 353-358. : https://goo.gl/2vZbqX
  9. Dhillon S. The acute effect of acupuncture on 20-km cycling performance. Clin J Sport Med. 2008; 18: 76-80. Ref.: https://goo.gl/vI1t1P
  10. Guerra de Hoyos JA, Andrés Martín Mdel C, Bassas y Baena de Leon E, Vigára Lopez M, Molina López T, et al. Randomised trial of long term effect of acupuncture for shoulder pain. Pain. 2004; 112: 289- 298. Ref.: https://goo.gl/8WAT0o
  11. Molsberger AF, Schneider T, Gotthardt H, Drabik A. German Randomized Acupuncture Trial for chronic shoulder pain (GRASP)- a pragmatic, controlled, patient-blinded, multi-centre trial in an outpatient care environment. Pain. 2010; 151: 146-154. Ref.: https://goo.gl/EP0nr6
  12. Vas J, Ortega C, Olmo V, Perez-Fernandez F, Hernandez L, et al. Single-point acupuncture and physiotherapy for the treatment of painful shoulder: a multicentre randomized controlled trial. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2008; 47: 887- 893. Ref.: https://goo.gl/CjiZA7
  13. Johansson KM, Adolfsson LE, Foldevi MO. Effects of acupuncture versus ultrasound in patients with impingement syndrome: Molsberger AF, Schneider T, Gotthardt H, Drabik A. German Randomized Acupuncture Trial for chronic shoulder pain (GRASP)- a pragmatic, controlled, patient-blinded, multi-centre trial in an outpatient care environment. Pain. 2010; 151: 146-154.
  14. Ju Z, Guo X, Jiang X, Wang X, Liu S, et al. Electroacupuncture with different current intensities to treat knee osteoarthritis: a single-blinded controlled study. Int J Clin Exp Med. 2015; 8: 18981-18989. Ref.: https://goo.gl/Li2h3L
  15. Lin X, Huang K, Zhu G, Huang Z, Qin A, et al. The Effects of Acupuncture on Chronic Knee Pain Due to Osteoarthritis: A Meta-Analysis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016; 98: 1578-1585. Ref.: https://goo.gl/6EAudU
  16. Jensen R, Göthesen Ö, Liseth K, Baerheim A. Acupuncture treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome. J Altern Complement Med. 1999; 5: 521-527. : https://goo.gl/9qBLfE
  17. Lo Y. A young woman presenting with acute knee pain: a case report. Cases J. 2009; 2: 8212. : https://goo.gl/Oxe4jx
  18. Morris E. Acupuncture in Osgood-Schlatter disease. BMJ Case Rep. 2016. Ref.: https://goo.gl/7aru8z
  19. Ortega-Cebrian S, Luchini N, Whiteley R. Dry needling: Effects on activation and passive mechanical properties of the quadriceps, pain and range during late stage rehabilitation of ACL reconstructed patients. Physical therapy in sport : official journal of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine.">Phys Ther Sport. 2016; 21: 57-62. Ref.: https://goo.gl/QSRa39
  20. Trinh KV, Graham N, Gross AR, Goldsmith CH, Wang E, et al. Acupuncture for neck disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006; 19. Ref.: https://goo.gl/E6IAZM
  21. Trinh K, Graham N, Gross A, Goldsmith C, Wang E, et al. Acupuncture for neck disorders. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2007; 32: 236-243. Ref.: https://goo.gl/y3Ytl3
  22. Furlan AD, Van Tulder MW, Cherkin DC, Tsukayama H, Lao L, et al. Acupuncture and dry-needling for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Syst Rev. 2005; 25. Ref.: https://goo.gl/R69HZE
  23. Lam M, Galvin R, Curry P. Effectiveness of acupuncture for nonspecific chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2013; 38: 2124-2138. Ref.: https://goo.gl/FsCdQe
  24. Ji M, Wang X, Chen M, Shen Y, Zhang X, et al. The efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015; 2015. Ref.: https://goo.gl/ghu5cf
  25. Spiller J. Acupuncture, ketamine and piriformis syndrome--a case report from palliative care. Acupunct Med. 2007; 25: 109-112. Ref.: https://goo.gl/9cVTzz
  26. Wu Q. Piriformis syndrome treated by triple puncture with the bai hu yao tou maneuver. J Tradit Chin Med. 2003; 23: 197-198. Ref.: https://goo.gl/xjWFi4
  27. Kumnerddee W, Pattapong N. Efficacy of electro-acupuncture in chronic plantar fasciitis: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Chin Med. 2012; 40: 1167-1176. Ref.: https://goo.gl/4RzwtM 
  28. Thiagarajah AG. How effective is acupuncture for reducing pain due to plantar fasciitis? Singapore Med J. 2017; 58: 92-97. Ref.: https://goo.gl/AbxdXN
  29. Haker E, Lundeberg T. Acupuncture treatment in epicondylalgia: a comparative study of two acupuncture techniques. Clin J Pain. 1990; 6: 221- 226. Ref.: https://goo.gl/hCPIQk
  30. Huang Y, Fu ZH, Xia DB, Wu R. Introduction to floating acupuncture: clinical study on the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Am J Acupunct. 1998; 26: 27- 31. Ref.: https://goo.gl/oGtzmQ
  31. Trinh KV, Phillips SD, Ho E, Damsma K. Acupuncture for the alleviation of lateral epicondyle pain: a systematic review. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2004; 43: 1085-1090. Ref.: https://goo.gl/AAapNm
  32. Tang H, Fan H, Chen J, Yang M, Yi X, et al. Acupuncture for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015; 2015. Ref.: https://goo.gl/t4y0hA
  33. Zhang BM, Zhong LW, Xu SW, Jiang HR, Shen J. Acupuncture for chronic Achilles tendnopathy [sic]: a randomized controlled study. Chin J Integr Med. 2013; 19: 900- 904. Ref.: https://goo.gl/rYINiY
  34. Leckenstein J, Niederer D, Auerbach K, Bernhörster M, Hübscher M, et al. No Effect of Acupuncture in the Relief of Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin J Sport Med. 2016; 26: 471-477. Ref.: https://goo.gl/Td482v
  35. Hübscher M, Vogt L, Bernhörster M, Rosenhagen A, Banzer W. Effects of acupuncture on symptoms and muscle function in delayed-onset muscle soreness. J Altern Complement Med. 2008; 14: 1011-1016 Ref.: https://goo.gl/B2xgbV
  36. Moga C, Guo B, Schopflocher D, Harstall C. Development of a Quality Appraisal Tool for Case Series Studies Using a Modified Delphi Technique. Edmonton AB: Institute of Health Economics. 2012.

Similar Articles

Recently Viewed

Read More

Most Viewed

Read More

Help ?