Many Rivers Brings Sports and Orthopedic Acupuncture to Bloomfield

Many Rivers Community Acupuncture is proud to announce that Carrie Sawtell, L.Ac., C.SMA has completed an advanced certification in Sports Medicine Acupuncture®.  Many Rivers is the only acupuncture clinic with a certified Sports Medicine Acupuncture Specialist in Hartford County.

The Sports Medicine Acupuncture program consists of over 250 hours of in-person instruction in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of musculoskeletal pain.

“Sports acupuncture is not just for athletes,” said Sawtell.  “The innovative techniques can reduce pain and improve mobility for anyone who has chronic pain or injuries.”

Sawtell will bring cutting-edge orthopedic palpation and needling techniques to both the community and private-room acupuncture treatments offered at Many Rivers. 

“In the private sessions, I conduct a postural analysis to reveal hidden muscular imbalances that contribute to pain,” said Sawtell.  “I use that knowledge to craft custom community and private treatments.”

Sports Medicine Acupuncture is unique because it targets motor nerve entry points, which are located where a motor nerve enters each individual muscle.  Based on the orthopedic and postural assessments, specific points are treated to strengthen weak muscles, as well as relax tight muscles. 

“My certification process involved many hours of work with human cadavers, so I am trained on the exact location, depth, and needle orientation for the motor nerve entry points,” said Sawtell.

The treatments are tailored to each patient’s needs.  Sawtell uses micro-thin Korean needles to gently stimulate motor nerve entry points without discomfort, and larger Chinese needles to actively release chronically tight muscles.

Sawtell also teaches easy, at-home exercises for patients based on the results of the postural analysis. The exercises not only reduce pain, but also strengthen the body to prevent the pain from recurring.  

“The goal is for my patients to be active participants in their recovery,” said Sawtell.  “I provide personalized exercises to help them maintain their results for the long term.”

The community and private appointments are offered on a sliding scale at Many Rivers, with the goal of making acupuncture affordable for all.  Appointments can be scheduled online at manyriversacupuncture.com, or by calling (860) 683-0011.  The clinic is located at 3 Barnard Lane, Suite 205, in Bloomfield.