The Feasibility and Effects of Acupuncture on Muscle Soreness and Sense of Well-being in an Adolescent Football Population.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of performing acupuncture on multiple adolescent athletes in a warm weather, high intensity training environment. To measure perceived effects of acupuncture on delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and sense of well-being.

DESIGN: Prospective feasibility study, registered clinical trial (NCT03478800). 42 healthy male participants, ages 13-18 years, were involved in at least one of five treatment days for a total of 147 individual treatment sessions. Fifteen-minute treatments of traditional needle acupuncture were administered at the football field. Time, cost, side effects, and participant to provider ratio were observed. Effect on DOMS and sense of well-being were measured via pre- and posttreatment VAS (0-10) rating analyses.

RESULTS: Time required by research staff on treatment days, 75 minutes; total cost, $700 temperature range, 21-28°C; largest participant to acupuncturist ratio, 7-10:1. No major side effects occurred; 55% reported minimal side effects such as mild focal numbness or tingling. Overall pre- to posttreatment effect on DOMS (average over 5 days) demonstrated significantly improved posttreatment scores (pre 4.6 ± 2.0; post 2.9 ± 2.2, p<.001). There was no significant effect on sense of well-being (p=0.12).

CONCLUSION: Effectively providing acupuncture to multiple adolescent football players in their training environment is feasible with appropriate staff and resources. Despite mild side-effects, treatment was well tolerated. This study provides guidance on acupuncture delivery to other athletes in their training environments.