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Since it hosted the Winter Olympics in 1924, Chamonix has been a mecca for skiing and other alpine sports. In the warmer months, it is also one of Europe’s leading destinations for mountain sports, including hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, trail running and others.
Unfortunately, having so many people participating in so many physically demanding sports inevitably results in a large number of major and minor injuries. As a result, there is a great demand for a wide variety of therapies and many excellent physiotherapists, osteopaths, and sports massage therapists work in the area.
In Japan, China and other parts of Asia, the benefits of acupuncture as a sports injury treatment system are well understood, but here in Chamonix, it is still underrepresented. In the three years that we have been practicing in Chamonix, we have treated a large number of sportsmen and women, ranging from weekend warriors to elite professionals. We have found that, as in Japan, acupuncture can help athletes of every level here reduce pain, recover from injury, and improve their overall health, vigour and sense of well-being.
We would like to share the strengths of acupuncture treatment with athletes who visit or live in the area, and also to explore the further health benefits that can be achieved through collaboration with therapists working with other modalities.

Method – Acupuncture for Sports –

Acupuncture for sports is a specialized treatment system suitable for all types of athletes. It focuses essentially on pain relief and supporting the clients’ rapid and effective recovery from their injuries.
Acupuncture for sports primarily utilizes our Integrative Neuro-meridian Acupuncture system, which, besides standard acupuncture techniques, includes treatment modalities such as electroacupuncture and trigger point dry needling.
It is especially effective for the assessment and treatment of acute & chronic pain and also body/mind dysfunction symptoms that arise due to myofascial trigger points, muscle spasms, inflamed tissues, tension and increased tonicity.
(Read more on our Integrative Neuro-meridian Acupuncture page)
The purpose of Acupuncture for Sports is to find and address the root cause of your acute & chronic pain, restore your physical capabilities to a pre-injury level and help you to acquire an improved level of overall health and fitness that will minimize further injuries.

Conditions that respond well to Acupuncture for Sports

For trail runners

IT Band syndrome, runner’s knee, patella pain & tendonitis, other types of knee pain, plantar fasciitis & foot pain, Achilles tendonitis, tendinopathy, shin splints, hip pain, bursitis, sciatica

For rock climbers

Shoulder issues such as subacromial impingement and rotator cuff tendinitis, lateral epicondylalgia, triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC), hip joint, knee and ankle issues

For paragliders

Sprains, dislocations and tightness of the shoulder muscles, faster and more effective recovery from fractures and broken bones

For MTB’s

Wrist and hand injuries such as triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC), shoulder and neck issues such as cervical radiculopathy and spondylosis, concussions

For skiers

Whiplash and concussions, MCL and other knee-related injuries, faster and more effective recovery from ACL

For snowboarders

Whiplash and concussions, faster and more effective recovery from shoulder dislocations and fractures

For cyclists

IT band syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome and Achilles tendonitis

For hikers

Strains & sprains, Morton’s neuroma

For tennis players

Lateral epicondylalgia (tennis elbow), rotator cuff tendinitis (shoulder impingement), sprained ankles

What are the benefits of using acupuncture in conjunction with physiotherapy?

As is well-known in Japan, acupuncture and physiotherapy complement each other extremely well.
Using acupuncture in conjunction with physiotherapy has a large synergistic effect which helps you to recover your physical functions and optimum performance capability in a faster and more effective way.
Acupuncture for Sports is particularly well-suited for reducing inflammation and alleviating pain since it stimulates a positive biophysiological cascade.
(Read more on “What is dry needling” and “What is electroacupuncture?”)
As the treatment progresses, the client’s bodily functionality improves and becomes better able to enhance the effectiveness of the physiotherapist’s movement reeducation sessions.
With this combined therapy, your bodily alignment will improve, and you will be able to reorient your whole body/mind system, helping you to get back to the sports you love as soon as possible, and in the best possible condition.
At NAOKI HATTORI Traditional Japanese Therapy, we recommend starting a course of acupuncture at any phase of your physiotherapy treatment sessions. Ideally, however, it is most effective if you start them together.

Acupuncture for Sports FOR ALL

Although Acupuncture for Sports was originally created for elite athletes, it is a treatment system that has proven itself to be extremely effective for anybody who has suffered an injury, is experiencing acute or chronic pain, or has any other range-of-motion issues.
Regardless of their age or activity level, Acupuncture for Sports can be an ideal treatment for everyone.
Our system is now being used to treat people of all ages, from all over Chamonix – from infants and kids through to teens, adults and the elderly.
At NAOKI HATTORI Traditional Japanese Therapy, we seek to combine evidence-based acupuncture approaches with the most effective and complimentary systems of integrative medicine so that we can provide the best possible care for everyone, from elite athletes to people living a very sedentary lifestyle.

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