{"id":7402,"date":"2017-10-11T18:13:32","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T17:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=7402"},"modified":"2017-11-15T14:02:02","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T13:02:02","slug":"big-game-little-needles-acupuncture-professional-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2017\/10\/11\/big-game-little-needles-acupuncture-professional-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Game, Little Needles: Acupuncture in Professional Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note from the Karim Khan, Editor BJSM:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I expect this blog to generate a lot of discussion. On the one hand will be the folks who argue that if there are no RCTs for a treatment then it shouldn’t be discussed on the BJSM blog. If we extend that argument then Jenny McConnell’s taping for knee pain should have been banned from its birth <\/i>in 1989 until the RCT that<\/em> proved its value 20 years later. Similarly we wouldn’t have knee arthroscopy for meniscal tears or arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. No RCT, no treatment.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

On the other hand, there are clinicians who treat patients and who swear by a technique that provides patient-reported benefits. In many cases the clinician has no incentive to conjure up a treatment effect and the patient is entering the clinical contract in good faith. You’ll see example of that abounding in the piece below.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

BJSM revels in criticism so if you have an opinion about this fire away – via letters, your favourite social media channels; feel free to submit a’discussion’ or an ‘editorial’ submitted to the BJSM.\u00a0 Instructions for authors here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Press Release emailed to BJSM (among others) by The Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists<\/strong><\/p>\n

Football is the most internationally recognised sport of our era with the FIFA World Cup one of the most watched events worldwide, reaching a global in-home television audience of 3.2 billion in 2014. Due to the strenuous, repetitive movements and physical contact they endure on a regular basis, professional footballers are rarely short on injuries needing treatment. Given the detrimental effect on training and results, clubs need to focus on prevention and treatment for such injuries to ensure success. Football teams increasingly employ acupuncture to treat musculoskeletal injuries and long term conditions. Acupuncture is used both on its own and in conjunction with other therapies such as physiotherapy.<\/p>\n

\"\"One team that has utilised acupuncture to support its players is Notts County FC who recently let the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (AACP) film inside their treatment room. Watch full video here:<\/p>\n

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sxbMACk9lGk” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n

Head of Sports Medicine Johnny Wilson advocates for players’ autonomy of care and as such always gives his players the option of acupuncture, many of whom have seen benefits to their fitness and performance. Wilson sees acupuncture’s value as one part of a multi-model approach to footballer\u2019s physiotherapy. He often uses it as an additional method to more standard treatment regimes. <\/span>Wilson states:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three aspects to our philosophy;<\/span> reduce their risk of injury, improve their athletic performance and help them tolerate the demands of the game . . . we look at how we can enable the players to run economically and efficiently\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Notts County Player-Manager Kevin Nolan highlights acupuncture\u2019s role within professional football:<\/p>\n

\u201cAcupuncture has become a part of everyday modern football. You see it used often, there wouldn\u2019t be a day go by that I wouldn\u2019t see the needles come out. It\u2019s something, if we\u2019re going to be moving forward as a medical department, that we need to study and know about and make sure we don\u2019t get left behind and we can give our athletes the best possible rehab.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Notts County Midfielder Curtis Thomson, who receives acupuncture within the video, comments that as a midfielder he amounts a lot of running time during matches and training which causes his back and legs to cease up \u201cI find that the acupuncture helps release [the tension] and gives me more mobility on the pitch\u201d. Within the video we see Wilson acupuncture three points to treat Curtis\u2019s acute hamstring pain alongside the exercise and stretches that make up the holistic approach championed at the club.<\/p>\n

There are many proposed theories of how acupuncture works. One western medical theory discussed by Wilson within the video puts forward that acupuncture modulates spinal signal transmission and the brains perception of pain. Wilson summarises how Acupuncture does this in a three-fold effect:<\/p>\n