Achilles tendon treated with acupuncture and moxibustion

Whether you’re a professional basketball player or an avid high intensity interval training jumper or sprinter, your achilles tendons are at risk of getting injured. Fully torn connective tissues like your ligaments and tendon is no good. Practicing within the limitation of your body’s condition is important and as you train to improve your stamina, strength, and mobility is important. Pushing it a tad bit to get yourself further in your goals should be done mindfully.

Getting injured is inevitable when you are as active as you are. In case if you do, consider acupuncture coupled with moxibustion.

Ligaments

Are made of connective tissue and when overstretched, likely will cause inflammation and pain. Ligaments attaches one bone to another like the ligaments of your knees.

Tendons

Image. Unsplash - Anne Nygård @polarmermaid

Are also connective tissues and can also be torn or overstretched. They attach a muscle to a bone, like your achilles’ tendon (in the lighter shade of blue).

Method of treatment

Treating your achilles pain can be done with local acupuncture. That is, inserting the needles directly at the site that hurts and stimulating it. We can do this in various ways, either manually by hand, or with electroacupuncture. Then moxa or moxibustion is used to warm up that area.

Citations

Kubo, K., Yajima, H., Takayama, M., Ikebukuro, T., Mizoguchi, H., & Takakura, N. (2011). Changes in blood circulation of the contralateral Achilles tendon during and after acupuncture and heating. International journal of sports medicine, 32(10), 807–813. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0031-1277213

Kubo, K., Yajima, H., Takayama, M., Ikebukuro, T., Mizoguchi, H., & Takakura, N. (2010). Effects of acupuncture and heating on blood volume and oxygen saturation of human Achilles tendon in vivo. European journal of applied physiology, 109(3), 545–550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1368-z

Inoue, M., Nakajima, M., Oi, Y., Hojo, T., Itoi, M., & Kitakoji, H. (2015). The effect of electroacupuncture on tendon repair in a rat Achilles tendon rupture model. Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, 33(1), 58–64. https://doi.org/10.1136/acupmed-2014-010611

Wang, R. Q., Chen, Y., Liu, J. X., Zhang, Z. D., Jia, Y. J., Xu, J., Pan, L. J., & Jia, C. S. (2020). Zhen ci yan jiu = Acupuncture research, 45(6), 490–494. https://doi.org/10.13702/j.1000-0607.190360