5. Famous former NBA forward Grant Hill received acupuncture to help his legs and boost his energy. Grant Hill said “it doesn’t hurt .. they treat the whole body .. they look for the cause of the problem and fix that.”.

6. Wang Qun an Olympic swimmer from China used cupping to prepare for her race at the 2008 Bejing Olympics.

7. Kobe Bryant – On 1/5/13 the NBA superstar took to twitter and posted a picture of his leg with acupuncture needles in it along with the tweet “Acupuncture therapy. Whatever it takes #mambatweets” I am not a big fan of Kobe but I am always happy to see Chinese Medicine getting good press.

8. Fullback, Tony Richardson – Richardson, considered on of the best fullbacks in NFL history had a distinguished career with the Vikings, Chiefs and Jets. He successfully used acupuncture for injuries and credited his acupuncturist for his quick healing time.

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine has a very very long history of effectively treating pain and speeding the recovery process. Even conservative organizations like the Canadian Army are using acupuncture to treat chronic pain and PTSD in injured soldiers. Acupuncture benefits for athletes include: pain relief, faster recovery, improved circulation, muscle relaxation, better sleep and improved energy. Like many others, and for the same reasons, athletes are fans of acupuncture and the other treatments offered by Traditional Chinese Medicine as a way to treat injuries and a multitude of other health concerns.