Acupuncture in treating sports injuries of hand, wrist and elbow

Acupuncture may be effective and safe for short-term pain reduction and functional improvement in hand-and-wrist conditions, including carpal tunnel syndrome, cryotherapy-related pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and tenosynovitis.1 In Taiwan, traditional Chinese medicine has contributed to healthcare of elite players and sideline medicine. TCM physicians were recruited as members of the medical group of Taiwan’s national team in 2016 Rio Olympic Games, 2017 Taipei Universiade, 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, 2019 Napoli Universiade, 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, and 2022 Chengdu Asian Games. Applying TCM herbs, acupuncture, laser acupuncture, manipulation, cupping, and Gua-Sha in treating players is getting popular in Taiwan. National health insurance covers TCM use and acupuncture treatment, so the treatment is also well accepted by the public. Applying the above treatment in pre-operative and post-operative condition also accelerates the healing progress and the return-to-play timing for the athletes. Here we stated the experience of treating muscle fatigue and some post-training conditions of national players. As a modern tool integrative with TCM meridian theory, we also reviewed the studies about PBMT (photobiomodulation therapy) in attenuating muscle fatigue and the combined treatment with cryotherapy.2,3 Application of low level laser on acupuncture points combined with active rehabilitation exercises show benefits in patients with a distal radius fracture managed with percutaneous pinning and a short cast.4