Acupuncture therapy for shoulder injury?

Discussion in 'Injuries' started by david14700, May 7, 2003.

  1. david14700

    david14700 Regular Member

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    I've had a shoulder injury for about a year, which means I can still play but can no longer smash, which takes most of the fun out of playing.

    It's a strained muscle from overplaying but resting it no longer seems to work, as the pain flares up as soon as I play again even after a six week lay off.

    A friend suggested I try acupuncture to treat the injury.

    Has anyone tried this before?
     
  2. ronk

    ronk Regular Member

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    I saw an orthopedic doctor yesterday just to check on my shoulder and elbow. The doctor just said, "take it easier and play less when it hurts. You can also take some ibuprofen. Other than that, the injuries are minor and do not warrant treatment. There is no major damage based on the x-rays" That said, if you can layoff for a few months, your shoulder should heal. Do not aggravate it much because you may damage the tendons or bursas. I damaged my shoulder from serving too much in tennis and I no longer play tennis.

    Doing some shoulder warmups and swinging your shoulder and arms around like a windmill may help. What I do is swing my shoulder around like a windmill a bit in both directions and take an Aleeve before playing and that helps. Warming up properly before playing is a good precaution.

    Ron
     
  3. david14700

    david14700 Regular Member

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    Thanks Ron

    I'll try the windmill warm up and the ibuprofen, though if it works too well, I may start taking a bit too much medication before each game. Wonder if 4 Nurofen will affect my timing?

    Does anyone know of any other good medications for badminton enhancement? (strictly legal drugs only, of course)
     
  4. Pre-emptive

    Pre-emptive Regular Member

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    David, I think I have similar injury that you have. Muscles problems near the rotatary cuff. I can't do overhead shots, smashes and sometime clears. I had seen a couple sports doctors. The feedback is to do more stretching and play less. I have had accupunture, hot/cold therapy and lots of NSAIDs (Ibuoprofen). I had been playing with pain for 6 months then my trainer told me about ART ( active release technique ). I make about 7 visits to my ART practitioner and my shoulder is fixed now. My shoulder still feels tight from time to time but the pain is mostly gone. I am doing yoga regualrly to prevent the injury from coming back.

    check this out.

    http://www.activerelease.com
     
  5. Pre-emptive

    Pre-emptive Regular Member

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    I forgot to mention that the accupunture therapy gave me some relief for only a short period of time. i don't think it loosen the woven muscle fibers.
     
  6. ronk

    ronk Regular Member

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    I don't know much about ART but generally pain relievers and accupuncture only reduce the pain temporarily, but do not treat the underlying causes. Exercise and warmups as well as rest can effect long term benefits. The best thing to do is to take it easy and not damage the shoulder with overhead shots. Correct exercise and appropriate warmups will help your shoulder in the long run. Ibuprofen or the other NSAIDS treat the pain but have little effect on the underlying causes (except reduce any inflamations). If ART works, I might want to try it, but I am scheduled to learn some exercises to improve my elbow and shoulder. Hope I can get my shoulder and elbow back to A1 but age is getting to me. Not too old yet that I cannot play badminton, but I no longer have the speed nor can I stretch the way I could when I was young. I too like to smash and that is bad for my shoulder. I sometimes cannot generate a powerful smash because my shoulder is hurting.

    Ron
     

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