6 Eastern Cures for Western Workout Problems
Ease sore muscles, relieve pain, and recover faster with these Chinese treatments
The high of going all-out during a workout and the results you see make you feel amazing—the achy or tight muscles that can also result? Not so much. And while foam rolling, heating and icing, and pain relievers can all help, sometimes modern cures aren't enough.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been used for thousands of years to treat pretty much any ailment—and some of the remedies may help boost your fitness, TCM experts say. Here's the scoop on six treatments for active women.
RELATED: Wanna change an "ow" to "oh!"? Try these six unconventional ways to treat sore muscles.
Your workout is only as good as your recovery, as muscles grow when you’re resting. You may be able to speed up all of this with acupressure, the needle-less cousin of acupuncture.
"Using fingers or a tool to apply firm pressure to energy points of the body balances circulation and stimulates the body’s natural healing abilities,” Alvarez says. Each spot is thought to correspond with specific ailments, injuries, or pain, so pressing somewhere on your foot may in fact help with tight hamstrings.
Acupressure is so simple you can treat yourself, Alvarez says, and get some immediate relief instead of waiting for an appointment. One of her favorite points for athletes is the large intestine 4 acupoint found on the hand between the thumb and forefinger. “Applying pressure to this area is great for relieving any type of pain in the low back, whether it’s from deadlifts or PMS,” she says.
