Margaret is not my typical patient. She is a high level amateur cyclist who rides 3-5 hours on her bicycle every day. For fun on the weekends she crisscrosses the country racing against other top cyclists.

Margaret originally came to me for a hamstring injury that was not healing. She stuck with acupuncture after her hamstring got stronger because she noticed how much the acupuncture was helping her recover from training. This allowed her to work harder and be more successful in her racing.

She sent me this letter after her last treatment.

Hi Mackay,

OMG, I cannot begin to describe how great yesterday's treatment worked.  As I left your office I could feel the left hamstring easing and the overall fatigue lifting.  I did my errands, wandered around Hannaford’s, etc., and eventually got home at about three.  I took a half hour nap and that really did the trick.  I am so glad that I was able to do that short ride before the treatment, so that I could get my circulation going again and ID what was going on.  Also, I was free to rest a bit post-treatment  and let the treatment really take hold.

Today I had a really good ride.  I woke up at 5, determined to beat the rain.  Of course, by the time I was actually ready to ride the storms were approaching so I jumped onto the laptop instead of the bike and I got some work done.  I eventually got out from 9 to noon, and rode through sprinkles and light rain.  My riding was strong and my 30 and 15 minute intervals were very good.  There was little to no discomfort in the left hamstring, certainly none while I was pedaling.  It was great!  I pushed the pace when I could, knowing that I will have to be just a bit stronger to deal with the altitude.

I got home, cleaned my bike, changed, ate lunch and then took a 2 hour nap.  Wow!  Collecting on the sleep that I missed this morning, apparently.  As I was waking up from that I realized that the pain that I had in my chest had been absent for a long time.  I probably never felt it again yesterday after I got off the treatment table.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know this NOW!  Thank you again for the continued care.  I could not be doing this without it.

Take care,

Margaret
USA Cycling Licensed Level 1 Coach
www.margaretthompsoncycling.com
www.margaretthompsoncycling.blogspot.com

My dream coming out of acupuncture school was to treat professional athletes. However, I didn’t have the chutzpa to follow through. Twenty years ago athletes were very skeptical about acupuncture. It’s good to see them recognizing the value of acupuncture. Not only is it good for acupuncture, it’s good for the athletes as well.

Sylvia Thompson via Irishtimes.com

And, while it’s mainly still for the treatment of injuries, there are some sportspeople who are having acupuncture sessions prior to a sporting event to enhance performance.



David Gillick, 400 metres Irish Olympic athlete, is one such sportsperson who has found acupuncture beneficial. “My physiotherapist introduced me to dry needling about three years ago when I had extremely tight calf muscles,” explains Gillick.

“My body responded really well to the treatment and I’ve used it ever since if I’ve tight muscles. Just last Thursday, I had a tight Achilles tendon and she put five or six needles up the back of my leg and it released the tendon.”

Gillick says that if you’re stressed, you’re more likely to have an injury. “So acupuncture is also a way of offloading that stress, especially around now coming into the race season. A lot of athletes in the UK where I train are having acupuncture to relax them,” he adds.