Spring 2015

Updates

Prepaid packages- Starting June 1, 2015, the prepaid payment at time of service packages will no longer be available. Any of those packages which have been purchased before then will be accepted until those treatments have been used. Thank you for your understanding!

Parking - New construction is underway just north of The University Business Center. This will impact where you are allowed to park for your visits. Validated parking is only available in stalls 39-68 in the lot across from the building. There will no longer be parking available in the north lot above Trader Joe's.

Why Athletes Should Use Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been used by many professional athletes ranging from Olympians to NFL players to help enhance performance, maintain health, and recover from injury. Acupuncture is a gentle, natural and effective tool to ensure your peak performance. I have successfully worked with dozens of athletes in my practice from runners training for an Iron Man to weekend yogis.

Several studies including a recent data meta-analysis study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found acupuncture can reduce arthritis, migraines, and several forms of chronic pain. Below are 4 ways acupuncture can help you meet your performance goals.

Recovery Time

I treat a lot of people who are either training for an event or are just very active and are looking for ways to heal from an injury. This is really where acupuncture excels. Let's look at an example of someone who I treated for a rolled ankle. We will call him John.

John is a male in his mid 40's who is an avid runner training for a marathon in a few weeks. He was at the point where he was running 12 miles into the training when he rolled his ankle. He didn't have any imaging done to show how the ankle was impacted. The right ankle was visibly swollen on both the inside and outside of the joint and pain with walking.

We treated the ankle both directly and indirectly. This means we treated the injured ankle and also the opposite wrist. First, we needled the opposite wrist for any areas that were tender. Once the needles were in, John was asked to move his ankle for several seconds. The idea is by activating the injured ankle indirectly through the opposite wrist we decrease the time needed for healing.

How does this work? Many of you have heard me describe our bodies as electrical circuits. I often use the example of the light bulb. There are two ways to turn on a light bulb. The first is to screw the light bulb into the socket which is an analogy for the direct treatment of pain. The second is the indirect approach which is similar to flipping on the light switch. Both work but are different means to doing so and some people respond better to one over the other. For most patients I will try a few needles directly and indirectly to achieve the best results.

Following this treatment, John reported a 70% decrease in pain and by the next time I saw him, 3 days later, his swelling was almost completely gone and had sustained pain relief. In addition to the acupuncture, I advised him to alternate ice and heat and take an Epsom salt bath to reduce the swelling.

If you are interested in learning how acupuncture can support and improve your physical activity, call today or book online to make an appointment.

Incorporate Yoga to Enhance Performance

Tiffany is the owner of Seasoned Soul, creating healthy lifestyles through the synergistic blend of holistic nutrition, healing yoga, and seasonal cooking. Tiffany is my personal yoga instructor who I look to keep me fit and help with recovery from injuries. I asked Tiffany to provide some yoga poses to enhance performance and recovery.

This pose, a modification of supta padangustasana, or hand-to-big-toe pose, stretches the hamstring, and the iliotibial band, while building strength in the inner thighs, low back and psoas muscle, a hip flexor.

Lying on a mat, with a strap around the ball of the foot and foot extend straight up in the air from the hip with arms long but not locked. Your knee may be slightly bent if your hamstring is tight as you notice the difference between safely lengthening the leg from the heel to ceiling versus unsafely pressing out the back of the knee.

With each exhale, slowly draw the extended leg slowly towards your face, walking your hands up the strap. Next, with leg engaged and toes flexing towards the face, extend the leg out to the side. You may bend in the elbow and let it rest on a block or the floor. With each inhale, lengthen from the inner hip through the heel, and with each exhale, surrender the leg closer to the floor and in a direction of your shoulder. Pause when the opposite hip comes off of the floor.

Yoga Hamstring Stretch

For the iliotibial band stretch, draw the leg back through center. Switch hands with the strap and cross the engaged leg in an arc over the midline of the body and out to the opposite side, ending in a detoxifying twist, realigning the spine. If the foot does not reach the floor, place a block under it to support.

Yoga Hamstring Stretch

For more information on her services offered in the Seattle area, visit www.seasoned-soul.com or email her at tiffany@seasoned-soul.com

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