Auricular acupuncture (AA) can enhance athletes’ recovery after strenuous exercise, suggests the results of a Taiwanese study. Twenty-four elite male university basketball players were randomly divided into two groups; one received AA, and the other acted as a normal control group. All subjects in both groups then rode a stationary bike to exhaustion. The results showed that both maximum heart rate and blood lactic acid concentrations were significantly lower in the AA group, compared with the control group, at 30 and 60 minutes post-exercise. (Effects of auricular acupuncture on heart rate, oxygen consumption and blood lactic acid for elite basketball athletes. Am J Chin Med. 2011;39(6):1131-8).
Categories: Basic acupuncture research, Lifestyle research