If you are thinking about getting acupuncture for shin splints you have developed, it is essential you understand what you are getting yourself into. Acupuncture is an active form of sports medicine, but it also can be one of the least natural compared to something like massage therapy. To grasp the power of acupuncture it is first essential to understand shin splints, and then understand the basics of acupuncture for shin splints.
It an be scary to think of getting acupuncture, especially for a bone injury like shin splints. The key to benefiting from this treatment is first understanding what it is. When acupuncture is done right, it reaches places and helps your body in ways that no other form of treatment can.
Symptoms of Shin Splints
Before you jump into getting acupuncture for shin splints, you should know if you have them in the first place. There are not many injuries that you can confuse with shin splints, but it is always good to be sure.
- Tibia bone becomes sore to touch
- Painful to massage posterior tibialis
- Painful to walk, run or jump
- The shaft of bone no longer smooth to slide along
Causes of Shin Splints
Before you look into acupuncture for shin splints, you should understand the reason for them is the not the result of one action. They are usually the result of a bunch of things being wrong at one time. The first thing to trigger this injury is generally poor form and overtraining. If you have poor form when you run, for example, you put your body in a bad position to produce and absorb force. Then you add a lot of volume on top of this, and you have a recipe for disaster. Many other things can contribute to making this worse, and they are listed below.
- Overuse of lower legs from running, jumping or walking
- Flat feet cause the knee to collapse and due to the shin bone over-rotating during foot impact
- Weak hip muscles
- Tight calve muscles
- Tigh feet
- Change in shoes
- Training on hard surfaces
- Weak anterior tibialis muscle
- Overstriding when running
Treatment – Acupuncture for Shin Splints
Acupuncture is an eastern medicine technique where a certified practitioner will stick needles in certain places on your body. The remarkable thing is that acupuncture can be used to treat many different physical, mental, and emotional problems. As a patient, you can often barely even feel the needles go into your tissue. If there is a tense trigger point, you may feel the muscle release insanely which often can be surprising. If you are nervous about needles, the best thing you can do to reduce feeling them is to relax.
Without getting too technical, acupuncture treats problems, but the needles may not always go where you think they will. The whole body is connected to treat your shins for example sometimes needles go into your calves, posterior and anterior tibialis which make sense.
Other times the needles may go into your knee or arm and other areas that seem related. The important thing to ask if you are concerned is why and any good healthcare provider will be able to explain why pretty quickly. Getting acupuncture for shin splints do not mean that the needle is going to go into your bone. It will go into surrounding areas to help promote healing.
The great thing about acupuncture needles is that they can often reach places that are hard to get to just using fingers, ice or a foam roller.
How to Choose a Good Sports Acupuncturist
Finding a good acupuncturist is just as important as finding a good surgeon. You don’t want to be cut up by just anyone, and you also don’t want just anyone sticking needles in you. You can always use 9INE POINT Health to find a local acupuncturist or to find another practitioner that you are more familiar with that may also know acupuncture.
Things to Look for in a Good Acupuncturists
- Lots of experience
- Great educator to explain what is going on
- Sports background if you are an athlete
- A great listener to understand the problem, so you don’t get more needles than needed
Why You Need Help!
Sometimes you can ice all you want, but a muscle is in pain because another area is not working or because it is protecting you. With the hips, for example, your back may be hurting because your psoas is doing too much work and it is also tight. The psoas may be doing too much work because your other hip flexors are not activating correctly. The chain reaction could keep going. The same is true for the shins, calves and other surrounding tissue.
Sometimes you need the help of a sports medicine provider. Sports medicine providers are used to working with athletes that need to get results quickly, to get back on the field. If you are not an athlete, I am sure that you still want quick results.
There are many different options you can go with when looking for a provider. You could get a chiropractor, massage therapist, physical therapist or many other options. The key is finding someone you trust and that you are excited to work with.
How to Find The Best Acupuncture for Shin Splints
9INE POINT Health is the best place to find the health care providers you need for any injuries. It does not matter where you are hurting; a 9INE provider will be able to get you healthy again. 9INE POINT allows you to find the best local providers and compare them quickly using the 9INE POINT Number.
If you have no idea what you need, but you know you need something, 9INE POINT Health is an injury guide, and you will get helped through the process. We make it easier for you to find the information and the person you are looking for to provide acupuncture for shin splints.
Skills to Look for in a Healthcare Provider
- Active Release Technique
- Graston Technique
- Acupuncture
- Massage
- Fascial Stretch Therapy
- Corrective exercises
- Dry Needling
- Sports Background
- Functional Movement Screen
- And more
KHO Health was acquired by was acquire by 9INE POINT in the summer of 2019 and is now referred to as 9INE POINT Health.
9INE POINT Health was created by 9INE POINT in '19 as a means to provide athlete-driven resources to "Protect Athletes' Minds, Body and Belly". As well as be a platform for healthcare providers and other specialists to display their knowledge.