Acute & Sports Injury Care · Hillcrest, San Diego

Hurt recently? Treat it before it settles in.

A focused, three-visit protocol for new injuries and flare-ups. We work to get you moving again, and to keep a passing injury from becoming a lasting one.

Is this you?

The injury just happened.

You threw out your back picking something up. You tweaked a shoulder pressing, rolled an ankle on a run, felt a hamstring grab mid-sprint. Or an old, quiet spot flared after a hard week of training. You can mostly function, but your body is telling you something is wrong, and you want it handled now, not managed for months.

This protocol is for exactly that window: roughly the first six weeks, while the injury is still acute. New injuries respond fast when they are treated early and precisely. Left alone, the body often walls an injury off instead of finishing the repair; the pain fades but the pattern stays, and it comes back every time you load it. Most of the stubborn, chronic pain I treat started as an acute injury that never fully resolved. The goal here is simple: resolve it now, while it is still willing to move.

What This Covers

The injuries that walk in the door.

All of these live in the Sinew Channels, the classical system built for the musculoskeletal body: the muscles, tendons, and fascia where injuries actually happen. Most acupuncture practiced in the U.S. stays in the primary channels and barely touches this system. Treating the sinew channel involved means working the injured tissue directly, not a generic point recipe.

Neck pain & whiplash

Shoulder & rotator cuff

Low back tweaks & strains→ Sciatica flare-ups→

Knee pain & tracking issues

Tennis & golfer's elbow

Wrist, grip & forearm

Hamstring & hip flexor pulls

Ankle sprains & rolls

Plantar & foot pain

Training flare-ups & overuse

Post-competition recovery

The sinew work targets both the pain and the lost range of motion, and the change shows up fast: less pain and freer movement by the end of each visit. People come in hurting and leave moving and feeling better, more like themselves.

Something older or more complex driving the pain? Chronic & complex care →

The Protocol

Three visits. One clear plan.

This is scoped, assessment-led care at my standard rate, sized for how acute injuries actually heal. Every visit includes whatever the treatment calls for: needles or needle-free channel work, cupping, gua sha, moxa, bodywork, taping, and corrective exercises when they will speed you up. No add-on charges.

Intake & first treatment · up to 90 minutes

A full assessment: how the injury happened, how you move, palpation, classical pulse diagnosis. Then a same-day treatment aimed at the tissue and the channel actually involved, not a generic recipe.

ii.

First Focused Follow-Up · 45 minutes

We reassess and treat again while the injury is responding. Expect refinement: what loosened, what is still guarded, what to do and avoid between visits.

iii.

Second Focused Follow-Up · 45 minutes

By the third visit we will know, together, whether this has resolved or is pointing to something deeper. Most acute injuries finish here. If yours points deeper, you will leave knowing exactly what it needs.

Why this works

I knew the body under load before I knew the medicine.

I spent ten years as a strength coach before becoming a licensed acupuncturist. I know what a training injury feels like from the inside: what you did, what you are afraid to lose, and how badly you want a straight answer instead of "just rest it."

The medicine I practice was built for this. Classical Chinese Medicine includes an entire channel system for the musculoskeletal body, the Sinew Channels, where injuries, strains, and weather-sensitive pain live. Most acupuncture in the U.S. barely touches them. Treating an acute injury through the sinew system means working directly with the tissue that got hurt and the pattern protecting it, so the body can finish the repair instead of guarding around it.

And because I coached, you will not leave with vague advice. You leave each visit knowing what to load, what to rest, and when to push.

筋

Sinew channel needling at the elbow during an acute injury treatment at Gateway

In Their Words

Back to the things they love.

"With just two visits I've experienced excellent results toward healing an old knee injury. With Diego's knowledge and skillset I've been able to continue skiing without pain."

— Aaron A.

"My foot had swollen so much I couldn't walk and the pain was terrible. During the first session I felt a significant reduction in pain and could immediately walk more comfortably. I only wish I'd gone sooner."

— Lori M.

Individual results vary; testimonials reflect personal experiences and do not represent typical outcomes.

Pricing

One protocol. Everything included.

Acute & Sports Injury Care

3 visits · intake + two focused follow-ups · in person

Up to 90-minute intake with same-day treatment, plus the two focused follow-ups.

Every included modality, no upcharges: cupping, gua sha, moxibustion, infrared, tui na bodywork, taping, corrective exercise. Whatever your treatment calls for is done as clinically relevant.

$441

Payment: cash, credit, HSA, and FSA accepted. In-network with Cigna; superbills provided for all other insurers. If the injury points deeper, anything we learn carries straight into ongoing care, and we will talk about it plainly before you spend another dollar.

Common Questions

Before you book.

How soon after an injury should I come in?

As soon as you can. The first days after an injury are when treatment changes the trajectory most. If something looks like it needs imaging or urgent medical care, I will tell you at the consultation and point you to the right door first.

Is this only for athletes?

No. The same protocol serves the back that went out lifting a suitcase and the shoulder that gave out in the gym. If it happened recently and it limits how you move, this is the right door.

What if I'm uneasy about needles?

The medicine is bigger than its needles. A channel can be activated through energetic acupressure, and the protocol also draws on cupping, gua sha, moxa, and bodywork. We use what your body responds to.

Why three visits?

Acute injuries respond quickly when treated early, and three focused visits is the honest window for that response. It is enough to resolve most new injuries, and enough to know clearly when something deeper is driving the pain. I do not promise a fix by visit three; I promise you will know where you stand.

What happens if it turns out to be chronic?

Then we have found the real work. Everything learned in the protocol carries into ongoing classical treatment, where deeper patterns live. We talk about what that looks like before anything continues; the choice stays yours.

Does insurance cover this?

I am in-network with Cigna. For all other insurers I provide superbills with the correct codes, and many plans reimburse acupuncture for pain. HSA and FSA cards are accepted.

An honest fit

Begin with a conversation.

Ready, or nearly ready? Book the protocol directly, or start with a brief, complimentary call: what happened, what you have tried, and whether this is the right tool for it. If it is not, I will say so and point you toward what is.