How Acupuncture Can Help Soothe Pregame Anxiety

A person kicks a soccer ball toward a goal.

Health & Safety

May 7, 2024

The topic of mental health in sports has been mostly ignored until fairly recently. But thanks to several high-profile athletes’ willingness to open up about their struggles, the topic is no longer quite so taboo.

“Athletes at all levels are realizing the importance of their overall mental health, mental preparation before an event and mental recovery afterward,” says Thomas R. Betts, DAOM, LAc, a sports medicine acupuncturist at Henry Ford Health. “Having your mind in the right place pays big dividends in terms of sports performance.”

One of the many tools athletes are using to get their minds healthy is acupuncture. It may be an ancient Chinese practice, but it can be useful to help improve the mental health of modern athletes.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a healing technique that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Acupuncture practitioners (acupuncturists) insert very fine, thin needles into the skin at various points on the body, depending on what condition they’re treating.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the insertion points for the needles correspond to specific internal organs or energy channels in the body. “The philosophy behind traditional Chinese medicine is that acupuncture works by manipulating the flow of blood and energy to create balance and harmony in the body,” says Betts.

From a Western medicine perspective, acupuncture works by stimulating the central nervous system and by having some direct effect on the tissues in which needles are placed. Acupuncture also has a balancing effect on hormones within the body. It works well with other treatments for anxiety such as sports psychology, massage therapy, guided visualization and meditation.

How Can Acupuncture Improve Sports Performance?

Acupuncture has long been used to help people relax, reduce stress and cope with anxiety. And it can have that effect even when the acupuncturist is treating a physical problem. “Even when I’m treating an athlete for a sports injury, when I ask how they feel post treatment the overwhelming response I hear is ‘I feel so relaxed,’” says Betts.

This is why acupuncture seems like a natural fit for helping athletes of all levels cope with performance anxiety, pregame jitters or other competition-related fears. “Reducing stress helps athletes perform better,” says Betts. “And more and more athletes are realizing that taking care of their mental health and using tools to stay mentally focused can really enhance their performance.”

When Should Athletes Try Acupuncture?

Since an acupuncture session can leave you feeling super calm and relaxed, you don’t want to try it for the first time right before a game or competition. “The timing is important,” says Betts. “You want the athlete to feel motivated to compete, not totally Zenned out.”

The best approach is to schedule a series of acupuncture sessions in the weeks leading up to a big game, competition or race. Betts says he typically recommends athletes come in twice a week for three weeks to get started. “It’s not about treating their anxiety in the moments before a game,” he says. “It’s about establishing a baseline of calm that they can carry with them into the competition.”

While there’s still some stigma surrounding athletes and mental health, Betts sees the popularity of acupuncture as one sign of a shift. “I think we’re trending in the right direction for mental health,” he says. “Athletes are starting to understand that if they want longevity and success in their sport, they need to take care of their mental and emotional health—not just the physical.”

Reviewed by Thomas Betts, DOAM, RAc, a certified sports acupuncturist who sees patients at the Henry Ford Center for Athletic Medicine in Detroit.

To find a sports medicine provider at Henry Ford Health, visit henryford.com/athletes or call 313-651-1969.

A person holds a knee that may be injured.

Health & Safety

Symptoms of a Meniscus Tear — and When to Seek Treatment

By Henry Ford Health

April 2, 2024

Meniscus tears are not one size fits all: Sometimes they cause no pain, other times they’re excruciating.

Once in a while they heal or adapt on their own, but more often than not they require physical therapy or surgery.

“Your meniscus is a fiber elastic cartilage that acts as a shock absorber for the knee,” says Ahmad Bazzi, M.D., a sports medicine physician at Henry Ford Health. “It also helps stabilize the knee joint. But when it tears — which can occur in young athletes after a pivot injury or in older people who have arthritis — it can be painful.”

Here, Dr. Bazzi shares symptoms of a meniscus tear and when to see a doctor.

What Does A Meniscus Tear Feel Like?

Depending upon the level of injury and type of tear, meniscus tears can either be asymptomatic or cause symptoms like:

Locking. When the meniscus tears, a piece of it might move into the knee joint, causing mechanical issues like stiffness and locking of the knee joint.
Catching or clicking. This often feels like a sudden ‘click’ in the knee joint, where it suddenly gives out while you’re walking or doing certain movements.
Localized pain on the inner or outer part of the knee. In young athletes, a meniscus tear often causes an impaired range of motion and localized pain on the inner or outer part of the knee.
Pain and swelling. In older people, a meniscus tear often causes swelling and an overall aching pain in the knee.

Treatment Options For Meniscus Tears

A meniscus tear can only heal on its own if the tear is on the outer part of the knee where it has better access to blood supply. If you’re experiencing pain a few days after injury and you have limited range of motion, instability and/or swelling in the knee, Dr. Bazzi recommends seeing a doctor to get an examination and, if needed, an MRI for diagnosis.

“It’s hard to tell what type of meniscus tear you have if you haven’t seen a doctor,” says Dr. Bazzi. “If you have a mechanically unstable tear and it goes untreated, it could lead to worsening range of motion and stiffness, or worsening arthritis. It’s important to get seen by a doctor to get an accurate diagnosis and the proper treatment. It may take one to three months for a full recovery.”

Here, Dr. Bazzi shares treatment options:

Surgery

If someone is having mechanical symptoms like locking or catching, surgery may be considered right away, especially if it’s an athlete younger than 40 years old. “Meniscus tear surgery has a shorter recovery compared to other knee surgeries,” says Dr. Bazzi. “Surgery could either consist of a meniscectomy, which is partial or complete removal of the meniscus, or sometimes just a meniscus repair.”

Hyaluronic acid or cortisone injections

Non-operative treatments are often recommended for older people who have degenerative tears due to arthritis. “This is because meniscus surgery doesn’t often relieve their pain since they have underlying arthritis, meaning they have cartilage loss in the meniscus,” says Dr. Bazzi.

Instead, a cortisone injection, which is an anti-inflammatory medication that can be injected into the knee, can reduce inflammation, swelling and pain caused by arthritis.

A hyaluronic acid injection may also be considered, which adds cushioning in the knee. “Hyaluronic acid is one of the substances that make up our cartilage, so this injection helps us mimic the lost cartilage,” says Dr. Bazzi. “It also has anti-inflammatory properties.”

Physical therapy

Physical therapy is another great option, especially for older people who need non-operative treatment options. It can help the knee adapt to the tear, reduce pain and encourage full range of motion. “Physical therapy for meniscus tears focuses on balance exercises and exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee,” says Dr. Bazzi. “This helps to uphold the knee joint to achieve full range of motion and strength while being pain-free.”