NBA Houston Rockets star forward Chandler Parsons tried acupuncture as a new way of treating his chronic back pain to get back in the game. Parsons commented that acupuncture significantly reduced his back pain levels. Parsons recuperated enough to make it back in the line up today. The rockets beat California’s Golden State Warriors in a 105-83 victory. Parsons demonstrated the benefits of receiving quality medical care through acupuncture. The Houston Rockets flew in an acupuncturist from California to deliver the care to Parsons before coming to California to challenge the Warriors.
Acupuncture is no stranger to sports medicine having coevolved with the martial arts for over a thousand years. Many Kung Fu, Qi Gong and Tai Qi masters are skilled acupuncturists or benefit from acupuncture care as part of maintaining balanced health. In more modern times, acupuncture is a standard of practice for many professional athletic associations and olympic training centers.
Grant Hill retired from his tenure as a Phoenix Suns forward this year. It was his 19th season in the NBA. He was an enormous fan of acupuncture and a dedicated patient. Hill noted that acupuncture increased his energy levels and benefitted recovery time for his legs. Other Phoenix Suns basketball stars that used acupuncture include Kevin Johnson, Steve Nash, Charles Barkley, Jason Kidd, Hot Rod Williams and Jeff Hornacek. Many other NBA basketball stars are known for having had acupuncture as a support measure during their careers including Dwayne Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and Vladimir Radmonovic.
Football players such as Morten Anderson, Joe Montana and Michael Strahan regularly used acupuncture for recuperation. Golfers including Gary Player and Fred Couples also employed acupuncture for injury recovery. The same is true for baseball. The San Francisco Giants have a team acupuncturist as do many other teams. Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson was a regular acupuncture patient. Pitcher A.J. Burnett didn’t sign to the New York Yankees until general manager Brian Cashman agreed to add a team acupuncturist. Burnett says of acupuncture, “There’s no doubt in my mind that I think it’s helped… I found that I responded really well to the acupuncture….” In gymnastics, Nastia Liukin had a difficult year of competition in 2007 due to an ankle injury. In 2008, with the help of regular acupuncture treatments, she went on to win the Olympic all-around gold medal for women’s gymnastics.
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