How can Naturopathic Medicine help you?

By Athlete's Care on September 25, 2013

Preventing Athletic Injuries, Improving Performance and Improving Recovery with Naturopathic Medicine

Teresa Tsui, MSc, ND individualizes evidence-based treatments to help patients prevent athletic injuries, improve performance, and improve their rate of recovery after exercise. Here are some examples of how naturopathic medicine can help you:

Preventing athletic injuries:

• Taking nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D helps prevent stress fractures in athletes (Tenforde, 2010).

• Athletes who take antioxidant vitamins and enzymes have been found to prevent exercise-induced muscle damage (Dekkers, 1996).

Improving athletic performance:

• Taking proper fluids and hydration are important for improving exercise endurance. Natural electrolytes such as coconut water offer a good rehydration beverage (Kalman, 2012).

• Some herbal medicines either taken orally or topically have been used to improve athletic performance (Chen, 2012 and Meamarbashi 2013).

• Nutritional supplements / natural health products can have beneficial effects on athletic performance (Volek, 2013).

Improving rate of recovery:

• Taking antioxidant nutrients help to reduce the oxidative stress on your body after exercise (McAnulty 2013).

• Acupuncture treatment can enhance your rate of recovery after exercise (Urroz, 2013).

About naturopathic medicine

Naturopathic medicine is a complementary and integrative approach to primary health care aiming to address the cause of disease while supporting your body’s ability to heal itself. Naturopathic medicine is covered by most extended healthcare plans.

Teresa Tsui, MSc, ND practices at Athlete’s Care Empress Walk, improving the quality of life and performance of athletes. Call 416-479-8684416-479-8684 to learn how naturopathic medicine can help you.

 

References

PM R. 2010 Oct;2(10):945-9. doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2010.05.006. Evaluating the relationship of calcium and vitamin D in the prevention of stress fracture injuries in the young athlete: a review of the literature.

Tenforde AS, Sayres LC, Sainani KL, Fredericson M.

Sports Med. 1996 Mar;21(3):213-38.The role of antioxidant vitamins and enzymes in the prevention of exercise-induced muscle damage. Dekkers JC, van Doornen LJ, Kemper HC.

J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012 Jan 18;9(1):1. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-9-1. Comparison of coconut water and a carbohydrate-electrolyte sport drink on measures of hydration and physical performance in exercise-trained men. Kalman DS, Feldman S, Krieger DR, Bloomer RJ.

J Physiol Anthropol. 2012 Mar 8;31:4. doi: 10.1186/1880-6805-31-4. Herbs in exercise and sports. Chen CK, Muhamad AS, Ooi FK

J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2013 Mar 21;10(1):15. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-10-15.The effects of peppermint on exercise performance. Meamarbashi A, Rajabi A.

J Am Coll Nutr. 2013 Apr;32(2):122-35. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2013.793580. Whey protein supplementation during resistance training augments lean body mass. Volek JS, Volk BM, Gómez AL, Kunces LJ, Kupchak BR, Freidenreich DJ, Aristizabal JC, Saenz C, Dunn-Lewis C, Ballard KD, Quann EE, Kawiecki DL, Flanagan SD, Comstock BA, Fragala MS, Earp JE, Fernandez ML, Bruno RS, Ptolemy AS, Kellogg MD, Maresh CM, Kraemer WJ.

Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2013 Jul;38(7):760-5. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2012-0455. Epub 2013 Mar 8.

Effect of resveratrol and quercetin supplementation on redox status and inflammation after exercise. McAnulty LS, Miller LE, Hosick PA, Utter AC, Quindry JC, McAnulty SR.

J Altern Complement Med. 2013 Jan;19(1):9-16. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0727. Epub 2012 Sep 11. Effect of acute acupuncture treatment on exercise performance and postexercise recovery: a systematic review. Urroz P, Colagiuri B, Smith CA, Cheema BS.