Success of Sports Medicine Acupuncture Surprises Collegiate Head Athletic Trainer

It is nice to be back in practice again and to apply the knowledge and medicine that we teach in the SMAC Program, which continues to prove to be invaluable. Seeing the success of Sports Medicine Acupuncture for athletes and non-athletes alike is truly gratifying.

I have gratitude for how in-depth we get in this program because musculoskeletal pain and injury can be complex and diverse, so having a thorough understanding of the subject can make a significant difference in patient outcomes.

I recently treated a collegiate basketball player with a grade 2 ankle sprain. His rehabilitation was coming along very well, his athletic trainer at the university was impressed in how quickly he was healing. However, on his first day back onto the court although his ankle stability was fine, he experienced a new sensation of shooting pain down into his foot in the region of GB 40, ST42.

It was reproducible during a jump shot (ankle plantarflexion and inversion) and with pivot movements requiring pushing off from his forefoot (plantarflexion and inversion). His trainer felt the shooting pain was scar tissue development in the strained ligaments and he referred the player back to me.

The action of the ankle that provoked the shooting sensation (a combination of eccentric and concentric contractions of the peroneus longus/brevis myofascial tissues) led me to check for a possible nerve entrapment of the cutaneous peroneal nerve. This nerve is a branch of the superficial peroneal nerve that enters the cutaneous region via the fascia profunda in very close proximity of GB 37 (see the image above from our AcuSport Education cadaver dissection). This nerve’s topography follows the pathway of the player’s shooting pain.

Tinel’s Sign and cross-fiber palpation to the GB 37 region was positive for reproducing the shooting sensation. It was a straightforward acupuncture treatment using peroneus longus and brevis motor points in addition to using a lifting needle technique at the entrapment site to open the strangulated nerve from the densification of the fascial tissue (most likely due to his ankle sprain injury.)

Additional points were used to balance the yin and yang channels and his constitution. Myofascial release techniques were applied and mild guasha after the acupuncture. After the treatment, the patient could not reproduce the shooting sensation with any of the movements he performed prior to the treatment. He has a game next week that he feels confident he will be back playing pain-free.

This case is a great example of why we need in-depth education. Diagnosing this secondary injury of nerve entrapment only comes from years of experience and a deep understanding of anatomy. I love practicing this medicine!

Come join us for higher level education in the Sports Medicine Acupuncture Certification Program so you and your patients can experience the success of sports medicine acupuncture!