A study conducted in Taiwan appears to show that ear acupuncture can enhance athletic recovery after strenuous exercise. A total of 24 male university basketball players, mean age 21, were randomly divided into two groups: one received ear acupuncture, whilst the other merely had ear tape applied and so acted as a control. Both groups were then asked to ride an exercise bike to exhaustion.
At 30 and 60 minutes after exercise, both blood lactic acid levels and heart rate, were lower in the acupuncture group. Acupuncture also appeared to increase a subject’s oxygen uptake.
(Effects of Auricular Acupuncture on Heart Rate, Oxygen Consumption and Blood Lactic Acid for Elite Basketball Athletes. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2011.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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