Football Players Receive Acupuncture
Source: The Pueblo Chieftain
http://www.chieftain.com/sports/college/pack/4036627-120/gray-acupuncture-lot-wristen
Eight permanent tables, two portable cots and some mats on the floor in the training room at the field house of the Neta & Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl were occupied on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.
Zach Gray went from station to station, sticking Colorado State University-Pueblo football players and coaches with dozens of needles as fine as a human hair.
“This is battlefield acupuncture,” Gray said with a smile. “I love it like this. It allows a lot of people to get treated at once.”
The oversized bodies in a sterile room are a far cry from the serene surroundings of Gray’s White Crane Acupuncture.
Unlike other forms of treatments, the tenets of acupuncture — increasing the body’s natural healing abilities by stimulating certain pressure points with thin needles — are the same whether the room smells of incense or rubbing alcohol.
“The great thing about it is that you get the same benefits if you’re lying in my studio or sitting on a training table,” Gray said. “It all works the same.”
Gray was a standout football player at Centennial High School. He found that the traditional road to higher education — he kicked around college for a couple of years — just didn’t feel right.
“I had some experiences in my life that led me to believe in the power of the energy in the human body and once I started looking into (acupuncture), I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.
He began researching traditional Chinese medicine — acupuncture, herbalism, massage, diet — and it made sense. He earned a master’s degree in acupuncture and Oriental medicine from the Academy of Oriental Medicine in Austin, Texas.
Gray returned to Pueblo in 2005 and started treating people on a walk-in basis. His business has grown exponentially as insurance companies now pay for acupuncture treatments.
“I do a lot of (workers’ compensation) cases,” he said.
In 2011, Gray approached Colorado State University-Pueblo head football coach John Wristen about treating the players. Fortunately for Gray, Wristen is a bit of a Renaissance man, if not a Renaissance coach. There is no bottle of Patchouli oil in his office nor does he have Krishna Das playing in the background. But Wristen is open to new ideas and would rather set trends than follow them.
“Being a Division II program, I’m not going to let that be an excuse,” Wristen said. “A lot of the stuff we’re doing here I’ve done at other places I’ve been. But those places have a lot more money. We’ve been fortunate that we have people willing to donate their time to help us.
“That’s what makes this community so special.”
Wristen made his case while being treated for knee pain. He bought into acupuncture treatment after he injured his elbow shoveling snow.
“It was like I had tennis elbow and I went and saw Zach a couple of times and my elbow felt great after treatment,” he said. “It was the only thing that made it feel better.”
The ThunderWolves, under the encouragement of Wristen, use yoga and massage therapy for their restorative powers. They use acupuncture and chiropractic for their healing benefits. Whether players choose to use the alternatives offered is up to them.
“It’s there if they want it and a lot of guys take advantage,” he said. “Yoga has been really popular. Massages. Zach has a lot of regulars for acupuncture.”
Gray said that acupuncture is perfect for college players. It helps the body heal itself and young men and women who are already fit can benefit greatly.
The treatments also are body part specific.
“One of the best things about acupuncture is that it treats exact areas and conditions. It’s not one pill that everyone takes to feel better,” Gray said. “These college guys, they are so in shape that their bodies respond to it so quickly.”
On one table, defensive end Josh Croy had dozens of needles sticking out of the backs of both legs. It helps loosen his massive Achilles tendons, Croy said.
On another table, long snapper Jake Ludwick was getting treatment in his neck, wrist and knee. He also was getting some stress relief — a needle right between the eyes.
Ludwick, a senior, is a regular for the weekly acupuncture treatments.
“They help,” he said. “I know I feel better when I leave here and I know I don’t feel as good if I miss a week.”
Wristen credits head trainer Nick Horman with creating an environment where players may choose a variety of treatments — not just heat, ice, tape for pain management.
“Nick’s been great because he is open to new ideas,” Wristen said. “Some trainers aren’t like that; they prefer the traditional ways of doing things. But we’ve introduced a lot of different things here over the years and everyone is on board with what’s available to them.”
Horman has orthopedic surgeons on speed dial. He has worn a path to X-ray and MRI machines. He goes through tape like toilet paper. He has more braces than an orthodontist. Horman said that everything works together and some players respond better to certain treatments.
“Our job is to make sure our student-athletes are healthy, not just to compete, but in everyday life,” he said. “And if a guy thinks acupuncture works, then it probably does. That goes with any kind of treatment.”
Gray said that although not all traditional doctors embrace alternative medicine, it is gaining traction in the established medical community.
Gray’s goal is to be on staff of a professional or college team. Many NFL teams already employ full-time acupuncturists, Gray said, because the practice is becoming more accepted in mainstream medicine.
Along with volunteering his services to the ThunderWolves, Gray offers significant discounts to high school students as a way to give back.
“High school sports are so popular and important to people in Pueblo and they meant a lot to me,” he said. “They helped set me on my path.”
