Endpoint Wellness offers holistic and Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments to our Albuquerque patients. We are especially proud to offer sports medicine treatments to help athletes of all ages and skill levels boost their athletic performance and recover more quickly from their injuries. Whether you’re looking to stimulate your muscles, recover from a sports injury, or relieve stress before a big event, we can help.
How Acupuncture Can Help Athletes
Acupuncture involves the insertion of tiny hair-thin needles into specific points of the body as a method of manipulating the flow of vital energy, or qi. It activates your body’s own powers of healing and rejuvenation, reducing inflammation and boosting blood flow.
In sports medicine, acupuncture is frequently used in injury recovery and therapy. It is also used by many elite athletes as a method for managing stress and anxiety before events as well as muscle recovery and rejuvenation afterward.
Holistic Treatments
At Endpoint Wellness, we employ a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques and modern treatments inspired by Western medicine, offering our patients the best and most effective solutions for their needs. Some treatments offered include:
- Traditional acupuncture
- MicroLight electro-acupuncture
- Tui Na
- Kinesio taping
- Chinese Herbal Medicine
These treatments are safe, free of side effects, and offer a drug-free solution to pain management and wellness.
The Sports Medicine Experience at Endpoint Wellness
Endpoint Wellness provide Sports Medicine Services to athletes of all ages and all sports for students in school or club sports, weekend warriors and elite athletes of all ages involved in competitive sports. Treatments utilize the best practices of both Traditional Chinese Medicine (including acupuncture, Tuina (Physical Therapy) and herbal formulations) to using Western Medicine techniques and therapies such as Microcurrent, cold lasers and programs of corrective exercises. I work in collaboration with all Primary Care Physicians, Physical Therapists, coaches and other medical professionals. Endpoint Wellness has number of physicians and therapists that are athletes themselves as referral sources should that be needed.
When considering Sports Medicine, it is important to understand that beyond treating injuries, it focuses on those who want to play a sport or be active in one again, and to those that just want to hike, backpack, climb or pursue other outdoor activities.
Pre-Planning
Students need a physical examination as directed by the school. For everyone else, you should have a current physical from your Primary Care Physician and you should inform them as to what sport or activities you are planning to engage in. Once cleared to participate, you should look at the types of clothing suited to the sport. Of utmost importance, have an expert look at your shoes or boots prior to starting.
Training
During workup to an activity or while preparing for a game or race, there are a host of injuries that can happen, leaving you discouraged or injured. You may also experience fatigue, frustration with not meeting training goals or a coach’s expectation, and experience stress and anxiety prior to an event. Treatment at this stage involves looking at how hard you are training, looking for underlying conditions that could be holding you back, discussing if you are over training, nutritional counseling, and sometimes simple encouragement. Being treated with acupuncture while training is becoming common with a number of elite athletes, but you don’t need to be elite to use it. Acupuncture is very beneficial and affordable to all.
Pre-Event
It is very common to experience anxiety as to how well you will perform, to feeling that you are not ready, knowing full well that you have trained and are physically ready. If you have done everything properly, you may just need a quick balancing or anxiety treatment which takes 30 to 60 minutes.
Event Day
If requested and arranged prior, Endpoint Wellness offers pre-event acupuncture, massage and Kinesio taping.
Post Event
After the race, game or activity, it is very common to feel fatigue and soreness. You need to listen to your body. Most times an Epsom salt bath will fix the generalized aches and pains, but if still sore after two to three days you may need further treatment. If you are in this stage, schedule an appointment so we can get you feeling better and back to training for the next event.
Injuries and Managing Pain
Sports injuries can happen at the worst times and most athletes are not content with the option to discontinue training so I will try to accommodate you by actively managing your treatment program.
If involved in student sports and club events and you become injured, it is best to follow the advice of the coaches and trainers to see whether a trip to urgent care is warranted. If nothing is broken, then the same or following day it is important to start acupuncture and/or Microcurrent therapies. Using the combination, Endpoint Wellness can get you back on your feet faster and back to training faster.
If physical therapy is recommended, I can refer you to those therapists that understand and treat athletes as we have the common goal of getting you back to training in the shortest amount of time. In the event you require surgery, it is very important to make sure your body is prepared for the surgery so your recovery will be faster. Post-surgery acupuncture should start the same day or as soon as feasible.
Sports Performance
For those that want to excel at their sport, sports performance can be as simple as doing acupuncture and Microcurrent to affect the muscles involved in your sport either during training and just prior to an event, to the use of herbal formulations used by athletes worldwide. Best yet, is to use a combination of both. Consultation and treatment can start the same day in most cases.
Hours of Operation
Endpoint Wellness is open Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. We do offer extended morning and evening appointments, as well as, weekends with prior arrangements.
If you are interested in learning more about our holistic sports medicine, please contact us today!
