Volume 1, Special Edition | Current Japanese Acupuncture and Moxibustion 2010Sports Acupuncture & Moxibustion - Reviews
Eiji Furuya, Ph.D.
Director of Kuretake College
Oriental Medicine Clinical Laboratory
1. Introduction
Sports are most often played for the simple fact thatpeople need exercise to stay in good physical condition
and/or promote health. In fact, sports encompass abroad range of activities from the ones that are played
just for fun to the competitive ones that are performed
to athletes’ potential limits of physical as well as mentalabilities. However, injuries and other adverse effects
resulting from overuse and/or improper training, should
not be overlooked. Acupuncture and moxibustion
treatment have a history with sports injuries in theJapanese sports field. They have been used as asupportive measure for alleviating pain or discomfort
associated with sports activities. Despite this history, noorganization exists in Japan to handle matters of sports
acupuncture and moxibustion. Present practitioners
treat sports injuries on their own accord.
The firm positioning of sports acupuncture andmoxibustion started when their usefulness wereintroduced in a presentation entitled “Application ofAcupuncture and Moxibustion to Enhance CompetitiveAbilities” which was presented at the preparatory
meeting set up in 1992 for the conference of sports
acupuncture and moxibustion, medical science given at
the 95 Fukuoka Conference of the 18th Universiade andthe University Sports Research Conference held as partof Universiade. The therapeutic effects of acupuncture
treatments presented in these conferences and thefact-finding surveys on the treatment of sports injuries
with acupuncture and moxibustion for each event were
published as a book of literature abstracts1). On thisoccasion, the Japan Society of Acupuncture andMoxibustion has became actively involved in various

athletes has become a therapy movement for NationalSports Festivals and the National High School
Championships’ since 1998. This gives the practitioners

more opportunities to be active.
2. What ae Sports Acupuncture and Moxibustion?
Sports acupuncture and moxibustion can beconsidered as one of the conditioning tools that provide
athletes the optimum physical condition including quick
recovery from fatigue and the application to training aswell as alleviate symptoms they complain 6）. The use of
the procedures is dependent on the intensity of
trainingthe trainers give in competitive sports, but it isintended for all persons engaged in sports. If
acupuncture and moxibustion treatment are used tokeep athletes at their best, leading to the prevention ofsports injuries, it will help to enhance quality of sports.
This is an important role of sports acupuncture andmoxibustion and is an inherited concept of oriental
medicine of “treat mibyo”, or the concept of preventive
medicine3), 4).
3. Clinical Research
The National Sports Festival is Japan’s largest
sports competition. The author et al. developed thecondition adjustment for athletes with acupuncturetreatment at the sailing competition sites upon requestfrom the Japan Sailing Federation. The conditioning
levels were compared before and after the treatmentusing the visual analog scale (VAS). The treatment,
which was administered as desired by the athletes
regardless of before or after the competition, alleviatedmyofascial low back pain and muscle fatigue of cervix
shoulder and back7). After the treatment, they said
“this is the way to go” and showed enthusiasm for thecompetition.

activities aiming to build up clinical evidence and many
symposiums have been held to discuss a variety oftopics: administering treatment for the state ofpre-symptomatic condition before onset of a disease(”mibyo”), exercises, acupuncture and moxibustion2), thecurrent status and problems of sports acupuncture andmoxibustion3), and research on sports acupuncture andmoxibustion. Introducing practitioners to appropriate
information to help the “condition adjustment” for86

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)

Volume 1, Special Edition | Current Japanese Acupuncture and Moxibustion 2010

Aside from this, the effects of press tack needle(PTN) were investigated against sham needle in arandomized control trial. PTN, a very short needle witha shape similar to a thumbtack, has the advantage that
athletes can continue their sports with the PTN inplace. The effects against the model of muscle fatigue
were investigated through isotonic exercise of theupper arm flexor muscle group.The exercises werecarried out two times with a break taken in between
and the decreased number of repeated motions gained
from the exercises was compared between the twogroups (PTN group and sham group). After the firstexercise, PTN was left indwelled and then the exercise
was resumed, which showed less decrease in thenumber of repeated motions compared to a shamneedle8). In regard to the effects of PTN for muscle
soreness developing a day after the race, investigations
were made with PTNs indwelled during the race in thelower back region for a triathlon race, and in lower
extremities for a marathon race. Needles wereindwelled just before the start of the race. The
occurrence of muscle soreness on the following day wassuppressed in two groups9),10). The results suggest that
PTN be used for conditioning for athletes.
4. Education SystemThe education system for sports acupuncture andmoxibustion is yet to be established. This is because
there is no comprehensive program available for thesubjects from elite athletes to amateur athletes. The
basic of sports is to move the muscles in the body to agreater or lesser extent. Therefore, analysis of body
movements andcorresponding acupuncture andmoxibustion treatments are applicable for all persons
who play sports. What is required for the education isthe content that enables practitioners to achieve
accountability on safety, mutual interactions, andadverse effects.
5. Conclusion
Scientific validation of sports acupuncture andmoxibustion is not adequate. Validation is needed incooperation with all medical fields for each of thesports fields. As well as the evidence of the effects ofacupuncture and moxibustion, those of sports injury
prevention and sports conditioning need to beaccumulated. They will provide valuable input for theuse of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment insports medicine. Expertise in Western medicine,
physiological changes with physical activity, and themechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion together
with treatment techniques are also necessary forsports acupuncture and moxibustion.
Referense:
1) FISU/CESU Conference The 18th Universiade 1995
Fukuoka. Acupuncture in Sports-Abstracts.
2) Moriyama T.: Treatment to Protect Health, PhysicalFitness for the Health, Acupuncture & Moxibustion.
JSAM, 2000; 50(1):59-82.
3) Miyamoto T, Katayama K.: Present State andProblem of the Sports Acupuncture andMoxibustion.JSAM.2000; 50(1):83-102.
4) Miyamoto T, Furuya E, et al.: Symposium Researchon Acupuncture and Moxibustion in the Sports
Field. JSAM, 2008;58(2):166-178.
5) Asahiyama K.: Oriental Sports Therapy Handbook．
In: Hukubayashi T(ed). Kanagawa. Ido no Nippon.
2001:289-295
6) Matsushita M, Asahiyama K, et al.: Usefulness ofacupuncture / Moxibustion in the activities of sports
trainers. Osaka Journal of Clinical Acupunctureand Moxibustion, 2007; Vol.23.No.1:9-32.
7) Furuya E, Kaneko Y, et al.: Examinetion ofCondition Adjustment following Acupuncture
Treatment for Competitive Sailors at the NationalSports Festival. JSAM, 2006; 56(2):166-174.
8) Furuya E, Kaneko Y, et al.: Effect of Press Tack
Needle on Recoverry of Muscle Fatigue byRandomized Controlled Trial-sham contlloed
study-2009; 59(4):68-76.
9) Kaneko Y, Furuya E, et al.: The Effects of Press Tack
Needle Treatment on Muscle Soreness afterTriathlon Race- Sham-controlled Study-. JAM 2009;
1: 22-30.
10) Miyamoto T, Hamada J, et al.: Effect ofAcupuncture using Press Tack Needle on Muscle
Pain and Stiffness after Marathon Race-Double
Blind Randomized Control Trial-. Kanpo Med. 2003;
Vol.54(5):939-944.

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)87