Acupuncturist Treats 40 N.F.L. Players in 4 Cities

Jets fullback Tony Richardson recently had an acupuncture session at his apartment.
(Michael Nagle for The New York Times)

Today's New York Times has a wonderful, interesting (and INSPIRING) article about Lisa Ripi, personal acupuncturist to the pros. I've posted one of the photos here, as well as an excerpt from the full article. Wouldn't we at Health On Point be wonderful at treating local athletes? No need to fly all over the country when there are so many students in the athletic department in need! But you don't have to take our word.

Stretched out on a massage table in his Long Island City condominium, Jets fullback Tony Richardson closed his eyes. Over the next hour, he groaned and grimaced and eventually fell asleep, as Lisa Ripi, the traveling N.F.L. acupuncturist, went to work.

Ripi poked and prodded Richardson on a recent Tuesday, using blue and pink needles, until his body resembled a road map marked with 120 destinations. “SportsCenter” provided mood music. Afterward, Richardson said his soreness had mostly vanished.

“They always tell me I’m their little secret,” Ripi said. “I feel like the little mouse who takes the thorns out of their feet.”

Professional football players partake in a violent game, and as the season progresses, they spend more time in training rooms than on practice fields. They visit chiropractors and massage therapists, practice yoga, undergo electronic stimulation and nap in hyperbaric chambers.

Yet relatively few receive acupuncture, which brings smiles to the faces of Ripi’s clients. They remain fiercely territorial. They fight over Fridays because it is closest to their games. They accuse one another of hogging, or trying to steal her.

All swear by Ripi’s technique, which she described as closer to Japanese-style acupuncture than to traditional Chinese methods. She focuses less on established points and more on sore areas, using needles to increase blood flow, relaxing muscles tightened in the weight room.

Read the full article here.