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    National Senior Olympics, Tucson, AZ. 1997

National Senior Olympics, Tucson Az., 1997

By Peter Van Arsdale, L.Ac.

Over ten thousand athletes from across the United States competed in Tucson Arizona in May, 1997 for the elusive gold, silver and bronze. Ten thousand young at heart seniors out to have fun, stay fit and enjoy life. At the racetrack, the bowling alley, the basketball court, the buses and the hotel lobbies one could hear seniors laughing and joking, telling stories of missed baskets or split second wins. Age groups from fifty (the youngsters) up to the nineties were competing in over eighteen different sports for ten days in the hot sun of Arizona.

I felt lucky to be a part of this exciting and inspiring event. I was there in a two fold capacity. First, as a personal acupuncturist, massage therapist and chief cheerleader for my mother, Susan Gittler, gold medal champion of North Carolina in the 1500 meter race walk. Secondly as the official, first ever acupuncturist, for the National Senior Olympics.

As I worked closely with many of the athletes I began to hear amazing stories about overcoming physical handicaps and recovering from accidents. One woman in her eighties told me how she broke her leg in September of ’96. On Christmas day she was in a walker determined to beat the odds and recover so she cold race in May. She said the physical therapy was very painful but she kept at it and through her perseverance and hard work she recovered and was able to race. Not only did she race but she came in first on that bright sunny day in Tucson.

Another woman in her sixties approached me as I was working on other athletes in the medical tent. She was thrilled to find an acupuncturist and told me that it was the only thing that helped her arthritis. She was a discus thrower and suffered from arthritis in her hands. She was determined to compete bur her hands were so swollen and painful she was unable to close them and hold the discus. After her treatment she held up her hands, and with a big smile showed me how she could open and close them with ease. I wished her good luck as she went off to compete.

One last story before I relate the exciting saga of my mother’s race. One of the racers in the 1500-meter sprint limped into the medical tent after his race. He asked if I could help him and told me he was suffering from chronic sciatic pain. As I worked on him we talked about his race. He placed second with a time of four minutes twenty seconds, fifty-two seconds slower than the world’s record. Wow!

It was a wonderful experience supporting my mother in her 1500-meter race walk. Her grandson, Allen Brooks, flew in from Atlanta Georgia to be with us on this special day. Allen is an experienced coach and track and field competitor and came very close to qualifying fro the US Olympic team in 1990. He, of course, was grandma’s personal coach. The day before the race I gave her both a massage and an acupuncture treatment, which she gets regularly at home in Durham, NC.

The morning of the race we got up early to ride the bus to the track. We arrived in plenty of time so I could give her another warm-up massage and special acupuncture points for speed and endurance. As she race-walked to warm up before the race Allen and I were close by her side. Soon the starting time approached and the contestants lined up ready for the gun. Seventeen women, all 75 to 79 years old, determined and excited like high school girls, ready to race for the gold. With the sound of the starting gun they were off, striding forward, elbows pumping, gray hair flying in the breeze prepared for the four times around the track to complete the 1500 meters.

Race-walking requires skill and endurance. The heel of the leading foot must strike the ground before the rear foot leaves the ground. The knee of the leading leg must be straight when the foot hits the ground and remain straight as it becomes vertical. This gives a rolling quality to the stride that when done correctly, is very rhythmical and smooth. A racer is disqualified if she breaks form more than three times during the race.

After four times around the track they approached the finish line. My mother neck and neck for third place. As they crossed the line it looked like a tie but the photo finish reveled her a hair behind the third place finisher. Her time was 11.05, fifty three seconds better than her previous personal best!

Spring and summer are times when people become more active and enjoy many kinds of sports and personal fitness programs. Unfortunately, we sometimes find old injuries becoming aggravated or new injuries occurring.

Muscles become strained through overuse or lifting excessive weight. The muscle fibers actually tear, causing pain and discomfort. Sprains occur when the ligaments holding a joint together are violently twisted. Pain, swelling and inflammation result from such an injury.

In medical terminology, the ending "-it is" means inflammation. Thus, tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon and bursitis is inflammation of the bursa. These often occur together. Tendons may be torn or injured through overuse, twisting, or violent stretching. The resulting inflammation may cause the associated bursa to also become inflamed

This is one of the most common pain related problems and can be due to many causes. Muscle strain, ligament tears, chronic muscle tension and herniated disks are a few of the more frequent causes. The spine is made up of small bones or vertebrae separated by fluid filled sacs or discs. Through injury or improper body alignment, a disc may rupture, creating pressure on a nearby nerve.

There are many kinds of problems associated with knees that athletes may encounter. They generally affect either the ligaments or the cartilage. The cartilage is a hard, smooth white tissue that allows the knee joint to move easily. It is found within the joint capsule and covers the ends of the articulating bones.

How Acupuncture Can Help

Acupuncture has been used for centuries to heal sports injuries. Martial arts schools in China are often taught by acupuncturists or herbalists. Over the years, a specific kind of medicine was developed called Hit Medicine It derives it’s name from the "hits" a student would sustain while learning a martial art. It gives "no pain, no gain" a whole new meaning. More recently, these techniques have been used with professional and Olympic athletes to speed healing and enhance performance. In the local sports scene Roger Craig, formerly of the 49ers and other 49er team members, have benefited from acupuncture and herbs.

Acupuncture helps the body heal on many levels. In western medical terms it increases the transfer of blood and lymph on a cellular level to the damaged tissue. Also it enhances the body’s overall ability to heal by increasing the white and red blood cell count, thus increasing the oxygen and nutritive content of the blood. This increased fluid transfer on a cellular level with new vital blood helps to decrease inflammation and swelling and build new healthy tissue. Acupuncture also helps the body release endorphins, a natural and very powerful pain reliever.

In Chinese medicine, we think of pain as being a blockage of energy or blood in the meridians. Acupuncture is able to move the energy through the affected tissue, unlocking the blockage, lessening the pain and stimulating healing.

CHINESE MEDICINE AND VIOLIN MAKING

Peter Van Arsdale, L.Ac.

Licensed Acupuncturist

My object in living is to unite

My avocation and my vocation

    Robert Frost, “Two Tramps In Mud Time”

Finding the paths that resonate within each of us is not always easy.  Life pressures tend to force us into choices that don’t always feel right but rather satisfy financial, personal or family goals.  I feel fortunate that my life work as an acupuncturist and natural healer has been fulfilling and rewarding for the past twenty years.  There is great satisfaction in helping people to find health and balance. 

 In addition to my professional life as an acupuncturist, I am also a violin and cello maker, currently working on my18th violin.  I have had the great fortune to study with some of the best-known violinmakers and have visited the birthplace of the father of the modern violin, Antonio Stradivari, in Cremona, Italy.  Much like traditional Chinese Medicine, creating a violin is a fascinating combination of art and science.  The concepts of harmony, vibration and balance are strong ingredients in both fields.  In building a violin, it is important to feel and listen to the wood in much the same way I feel and listen to the pulse.

 As part of my acupuncture practice, I have given lectures and talks at UCSF Medical School, Kaiser Permanente and other venues throughout the Bay area.  I taught at the San Francisco College of Acupuncture and helped found the National Sports Acupuncture Association for which I served both on the board and was vice president for many years.  In 1996, I was on the medical staff at the World Olympics in Atlanta and had a chance to treat many athletes from around the world.  In 1998, I was on the medical staff for the National Senior Games in Tucson, Arizona and helped many older athletes with acupuncture.  My mother, Susan Gittler, now in her eighties, raced in the 1500-meter race walk and placed fourth! 

 The important thing is to find interesting and rewarding work both as an avocation and a vocation; thus, balance and harmony are created and health can flourish.  The ancient Chinese philosophers and physicians knew this and incorporated it into their lives and the treatment of their patients.  Although it is difficult to follow your own path in this modern world of deadlines and distractions it is worth it.  Keep it simple and follow your own heart.