Citation

Niemtzow RC. Med. Acupunct. 2023; 35(5): e207.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/acu.2023.29239.editorial

PMID

37900874

PMCID

PMC10606946

Abstract

Medical Acupuncture is pleased to present this special issue pertaining to sports injuries and acupuncture. Our Guest Editors, Matt Callison, LAc, and Anthony Von der Muhll, LAc, DAOM, in their Editorial stated that the "stakes are high in sport competitions and are won by fractions of a second in some instances." Athletes require top conditioning to compete. Their injuries must mend, and their minds and bodies should be premium tuned. The ancient masters of Chinese martial arts had another challenge much different than currently required. Their students had to stay alive! It is not surprising that ancient martial arts masters embraced Chinese Medicine. Today, Chinese and Western Medicine shake hands in sports medicine, perhaps aiming at nothing more than beating the competition from a health perspective.

Perhaps what is well-delineated by Bisio are his views on Chinese and Western Medicine in the introduction found in his book, A Tooth from the Tiger's Mouth: How to Treat Your Injuries with Powerful Healing Secrets of the Great Chinese Warriors. Westerners tend to think of Chinese Medicine as either an exotic Eastern philosophy of no practical value that sometimes achieves inexplicable results but is full of poetic imagery that is confusing to Western thought and not very scientific. This is not true. Chinese Medicine is scientific and the result of thousands of observations, scholarship, debate, and practical experience by millions of people.1

The ancient martial-arts masters embraced Chinese Medicine as a tool of survival in hostile environments. We all think of Bruce Lee who kicked, tumbled, boxed, and leaped into action. Fighting with bare hands and fists were the lifesaving skills of ancient warriors. However, when injuries occurred, the masters used the healing powers of acupuncture, herbs, moxibustion, physical therapy, exercise, massage, and diet.1 It is not surprising that ancient Chinese paradigms have contributed to sports medicine today. T'ai chi, still practiced in China and many parts of the world developed from these masters, will "calibrate" your mind and body...

Language: en