I love my patients. But I don’t love seeing them limp into my acupuncture clinic in pain from an injury that was in some way avoidable. Yes, acupuncture can help reduce the pain and speed up the healing process, but it would be better to have not gotten an athletic injury in the first place.
And yes, I get it. It’s spring in Minnesota, and we northern dwellers spill outdoors as soon as the thermometer gets above 40 degrees, shedding our down parkas and fleece as we go. We head to the lakes, bike paths, running trails, and 
our gardens with a passion of one who has been cooped up for the past seven months. The problem is that the expansive and active nature of the season causes us northerners to overdo it. So go outside and play, but my intention is to keep you out of my treatment room, so here are some tips for avoiding injuries:
-Start slowly. You don’t have to run a marathon your first day out, and you don’t have to get your whole garden turned over and planted in a single day. Take it easy. Start with smaller increments of activity and work up slowly.
-Warm up and cool down. Warm up to get your heart going and the blood flowing in your muscles by walking, taking a slow run, or any movement that gently increases your heart rate. If you’re working in the garden, stretch your back and legs a little before heading out to the back forty. Cool down when you’re done by walking or doing some light stretching to allow your body to get back to normal.
-Use the right stuff. Equipment that doesn’t fit or work well can also be an invitation for accidents and injuries. If your sport involves walking or running, your shoes are your main piece of equipment–make sure they’re not old or worn out. This is true in the garden too. Many backs have been blown out simply by using the wrong tool for the job.
-Drink! This may seem like a no-brainer on the hot, humid days of summer, but dehydration can occur even on cooler days. Also, keep in mind that the signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion include feeling light-headed or dizzy, clamminess, lack of perspiration, shivering, and feeling cold.
-Be consistent. If you check the waiting room of your doctor’s office on Monday mornings, it’s likely that you’ll find a fair share of weekend athletes. Set up an exercise program that is regular (two to three times a week is ideal to start) and incorporates a balance of strength, flexibility and endurance.
-Mix It Up. By adding some variety to what you do outdoors, you are not constantly using the same muscles and joints. Switch your activities and give those muscles and joints time to recover.
-Know the signs of an impending overuse injury. It’s usually very clear when you are injured from some kind of trauma or a muscle pull, but overuse injuries can sneak up on you. Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish between everyday aches and pains and a true overuse injury. Common signs of overuse include pain that lasts hours or days after a workout, swelling, and reduced range of motion, or the feeling of “favoring” a muscle or joint.
-Finally, if you do become injured, let your injury heal. I’ve seen many people set the healing process back by feeling the need to “test” their injured part, or by rushing back to activity too soon. Remember, your body is programmed to heal. Give it time and let it do what it does best, and better yet, speed up the healing process with acupuncture.
