Get To The Pressure Point

Get To The Pressure Point

Sports medicine often finds itself looking forward to the next big thing, looking for what the future holds. Sometimes to find the future we simply need to look into the past.

Research being presented by PhD student Aleksandra Macznik, at Sports Medicine Australia's 2013 Asics Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport from October 22 to 25, indicates that acupressure may be effective for  the treatment of acute sports injury associated pain.

Macznik was encouraged to look into the efficacy of acupressure by her PhD supervisor, who has used it previously with athletes.

'Acupressure is an ancient technique originating from oriental medicine, and while complementary and alternative medicine is finding its way into western medicine, it is still not fully utilised," she said.

'Additionally, Australia and New Zealand, with their indigenous people and cultures, are often more receptive to holistic and non-invasive medical procedures, which made this project even more appealing."

Acupressure is similar in principle to acupuncture. In treatment, physical pressure, instead of the needles used in acupuncture, is applied to trigger points with the aim of clearing blockages in meridians. Pressure may be applied by hand, by elbow, or with various devices.

Macznik began her PhD with very little idea what the results would show.

'To be honest, I did not know what to really expect. On the one hand, why would it be used for thousands of years if it does not work? But on the other hand, the evidence emerging from the literature on this technique was limited and not fully proven," she said.

She believes more research is needed, but the results of her study show acupressure has some very promising practical implications.

'The technique is easy enough to be learnt by anyone with some basic knowledge of anatomy and with a little practice can be used by sports medics, physiotherapists, trainers, and coaches to help with the management of pain their athletes are experiencing after a sports-related injury," she said.

'Providing pain relief with acupressure after all is as simple as touch; and without using drugs or other invasive treatments has got to be better for the athlete in the long-run."

The 2013 Asics Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport is a multidisciplinary meeting for professionals with an interest or involvement in sports medicine, sports science, physical activity promotion and sports injury prevention. It is being held in Phuket, Thailand from October 22 to 25.
For more visit sma.org.au