Acupuncture in Improving the Performance in Handball Young Athletes

Abstract

Currently athletes are seeking to improve techniques and performances increasing the training, and some, to improve their performance, use illegal methods such as anabolic steroids and drugs. The acupuncture is a lawful way of verifying the improvement of both physical well-being as the recovery and improvement in the athletes performance. The objective was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on the performance of handball young athletes. Four athletes participated in the handball study they were males and between 15 and 17 years old. For inclusion in the study, the athletes should have practiced the sport for at least the entire preceding year to the study, high efficient, healthy and previously evaluated by three physiotherapists. It was excluded the athletes who had musculoskeletal and nervous systems injuries. Two physical tests were conducted: the pre- acupuncture and post-acupuncture test, both consistent in two shots of 100 meters each. Among the acupuncture tests before and after the application, it was standard an interval of 45 minutes to rest so it could minimize the effects of muscle fatigue. The acupuncture application was performed by inserting the needle perpendicular to the stimulation and for five seconds in points B58, VB30, extra point (master of the hips), P1, B17, TA15. There was a reduction of time in the second battery of tests. The four athletes had improvement in their time. The time average improvement was 5.71% (DP = 3.5). There was effectiveness of acupuncture in improving the performance of athletes in handball race.