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Monday 1pm - 8pm Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 1pm - 8pm Thursday 10am - 5pm

Synergy Acupuncture, 480 Stuyvesant Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ (2026)

02/21/2026

🏁 Daytona 500 drivers are absolute athletes.
In a single race, they’re strapped into a car for 500 miles (200 laps) at Daytona—managing extreme heat, sustained G-forces, and serious physical + mental fatigue the whole way.

Inside the cockpit, temps can climb to around 140°F, and drivers can hit heart rates in the 160–180 bpm range while fighting heavy loads through turns.
(Shoutout to Tyler Reddick, and respect to every driver who took the green.)

So where does acupuncture fit in?
For athletes and highly active people, acupuncture is commonly used to help manage neck/back/shoulder tension, overuse pain, and recovery stress—and major reviews by National Institute of Health show acupuncture can be effective for back/neck pain and osteoarthritis pain.

If your body feels like it’s been running 200 laps lately—let’s get you recovered, reset, and ready for what’s next. Schedule an appointment with us today!

Sources:
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture-effectiveness-and-safety

https://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/45039751/how-nascar-drivers-keep-their-cool-140-degree-cockpits

02/11/2026

Grateful for patients like John 🙏

Come for the relief—stay for the zen.
Ready for your reset? Book an appointment today!

02/04/2026

Steelers star T.J. Watt reportedly suffered a partially collapsed lung after a dry needling session at the team facility.

That’s not to scare anyone — it’s a reminder that any needle-based technique near the ribcage carries real (though uncommon) risk, including pneumothorax (punctured lung), which has been documented after dry needling.

The big takeaway for athletes:

“Needles” aren’t the problem — training + licensure matter.
Dry needling certification can involve relatively short, technique-focused training (sometimes as little as a weekend course), while licensed acupuncturists complete extensive education in anatomy, physiology, diagnosis, and safe needling practice.

In states like New Jersey,
acupuncturists must have at least 80 credits in science courses and a bachelor’s degree before embarking on their acupuncture education, which involves thousands of hours of training.

Physical Therapist performing dry needling (NJ): must complete a dry needling CE/competency program including 40 hours academic + 40 hours hands-on, and NJ law explicitly states patients must be told they are not receiving acupuncture by a licensed acupuncturist.

Before anyone puts a needle in you, ask:

What license are you practicing under?

How many supervised hours of needling training do you have?

What’s your protocol for higher-risk areas (neck/ribs/upper back)?

Do you use clean needle technique + informed consent?

If you’re in North Jersey and want needle-based sports recovery delivered by a licensed acupuncturist, Synergy Acupuncture is led by Michael Zakko, L.Ac.

02/01/2026

Playoff football is all about fast turnarounds—and the pros treat recovery like part of the job. 🏈

This season, multiple NFL players publicly described acupuncture as part of their real weekly routines:

George Kittle: called it a “non-negotiable,” seeing his acupuncturist 3–4x/week

Patrick Queen: said he prefers acupuncture over dry needling

CeeDee Lamb: has used it since entering the league (and admits it’s “not for everybody”)

Javonte Williams: pairs it with massage + hot/cold work and credits it for helping flexibility

If you’re training hard, the question isn’t if you need recovery—it’s whether you have a plan you can repeat.

Want help building your own weekly “non-negotiables”? Give us a call and schedule a consultation today!

01/25/2026

If there is one thing to be said about this winter storm - it's that cold weather doesn’t care about your training plan. 😅

When your weeks are packed with hard sessions, travel, late nights, and a little less recovery, your body’s “stress budget” can get maxed out—and research in exercise immunology suggests heavy, prolonged high-intensity blocks can temporarily increase upper-respiratory infection risk (especially after big endurance efforts).

Athlete immune-support basics (the stuff that works):
✅ Sleep 7–9 hours most nights (your #1 recovery multiplier)
✅ Fuel + hydrate consistently (especially around hard training days)
✅ Train smart: keep easy days easy, and respect deloads
✅ Hygiene: hands, water bottles, towels—don’t share ‘em
✅ Consider your annual flu vaccine as a proven way to reduce flu illness severity and hospitalization risk

Where acupuncture fits in:
Acupuncture can be a helpful add-on to an athlete’s winter routine—supporting recovery and downshifting stress. NIH notes acupuncture can affect the nervous system, and mechanistic research suggests specific acupuncture stimulation can activate anti-inflammatory signaling pathways. Translation: it may help you recover better so you’re not always training in “redline mode.”

Training through winter in Lyndhurst? If you want to build a recovery routine that keeps you consistent, book a session with Synergy Acupuncture today!

01/23/2026

“I literally felt the headache break on his table — if you know, you know.” 🙌

Migraine days don’t just hurt — they steal workouts, workdays, and moments you really want to be present for . We’re grateful to be part of this patient’s care team and to help dial in patterns like neck/upper trap tension that can contribute to flare-ups.

If migraines are taking over your calendar, let’s build a plan around acupuncture + targeted soft-tissue work + recovery habits. Book a session on our website or gives us a call at (201) 267 – 0395.

12/31/2025

2025 was a big year for training—and recovery. 🏃‍♂️🏋️‍♀️
Here are the top 5 issues athletes came in for this year, and how acupuncture can help:

Low back pain → pain relief + better movement
Neck pain → less pain + less short-term disability
Headaches/migraines → fewer migraine days for many people
Shoulder/posture pain → reduced pain + improved function
Ankle sprains → may support pain relief + return-to-activity (evidence still developing)

If one of these slowed you down this year, let’s build a recovery plan for 2026. 💪

12/30/2025

If your migraines ramp up when the weather turns, you’re not imagining it. Winter often stacks triggers: rapid weather/barometric-pressure shifts plus holiday stress + routine disruption, all of which can lower your migraine threshold.

🥶 Why winter hits harder

Weather swings: Pressure changes are a commonly reported migraine trigger, and research reviews support that weather/barometric shifts can be associated with attacks for some people.

Stress (and “let-down” stress): Stress is one of the most frequent migraine triggers—and even the drop after a stressful stretch can trigger an attack.

Schedule changes: Inconsistent sleep, meals, and hydration during travel/late nights can contribute to more frequent attacks.

Why acupuncture is worth considering (no meds required)
Acupuncture is a non-pharmacologic option (just fine needles at specific points—no drugs involved).

Evidence also supports acupuncture as a preventive approach for episodic migraine: a Cochrane review found it reduced migraine frequency versus no preventive treatment/routine care, and trials comparing it to preventive medications reported similar or slightly better outcomes with fewer adverse effects.

Synergy approach (athlete-friendly)
We build a winter migraine plan around your triggers—stress load, sleep patterns, training volume, and the neck/jaw/shoulder tension that tends to spike in cold weather and busy seasons—so you can stay consistent with training and recovery.

If winter migraines are stealing training days (or weekends), book a migraine-focused consult with us today!

Sources:
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3/full

https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/weather-and-migraine/

12/28/2025

Fresh Start 2026: Set goals you can measure—and a recovery plan you can actually stick to.

New Year’s goals work best when they’re concrete and supported by a routine that keeps your body training-ready.

Here’s a simple way to build acupuncture into your 2026 performance + wellness plan:

1) Pick 1–2 measurable outcomes

“Run 10K pain-free by March”

“Lift 3x/week consistently for 12 weeks”

“Wake up without low back tightness 5 days/week”

“Sleep 7+ hours and recover faster between sessions”

2) Identify the bottleneck
Tight hips? recurring shoulder/neck tension? post-game soreness? stress + poor sleep? (Acupuncture has clinical evidence supporting benefit for several chronic pain conditions and broader musculoskeletal disorders, and many people use it as part of a comprehensive plan.)

3) Put recovery on the calendar (like training)

Build phase: every 1–2 weeks

Maintenance: 1x/month (or as often as needed)

High-load weeks / before events: add a tune-up session
(We’ll adjust based on your sport, schedule, and what your body is telling us.)

Don’t defer this into “sometime in January.”
Book a “pre-2026 reset” session now and walk into the New Year already moving better!

Sources:
https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900%2817%2930780-0/

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture-effectiveness-and-safety/

12/26/2025

🏒⛸️ Hockey + ice skating are winter classics… but the injury list is pretty consistent every year. Here are the issues we see most often (and how we treat them at Synergy):

Common winter ice injuries

Ankle sprains (caught edge, awkward landings) — one of the most commonly reported skating injuries.

Knee injuries (especially MCL sprains, plus meniscus irritation from twisting/contact) — knee injuries are common in hockey, and MCL is frequently involved.

Hip/groin strains (hard push-offs, rapid direction changes) — the groin/hip/thigh region is consistently one of the most-injured areas in hockey.

Wrist/hand injuries (falls on an outstretched hand) — fractures are a major share of skating-related injuries, and FOOSH is a classic mechanism for broken wrists.

Shoulder injuries (checks, falls into boards/ice) — shoulder injuries are a frequent time-loss category in elite hockey.

Concussions / head impacts — hockey has meaningful concussion risk; if you suspect one, stop play and get evaluated.

How we treat at Synergy

✅ Acupuncture + trigger-point needling (dry needling) to help reduce pain, downshift protective muscle guarding, and support return-to-motion. Evidence syntheses and guideline reviews support acupuncture for pain and/or function across multiple musculoskeletal conditions (strength of evidence varies by condition).

✅ Soft-tissue work (IASTM / mobilization / myofascial techniques) to address stiffness, tissue irritability, and range-of-motion restrictions (often paired with movement re-training).

✅ Corrective exercises (your “stay-on-the-ice” homework) — because treatment sticks when your mechanics and capacity improve:

If you’re dealing with nagging groin pain, ankle instability, knee pain, shoulder tweaks, or back tightness and want a plan that combines hands-on work + acupuncture + smart exercises, book a session and let’s keep you on the ice this winter.

Sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6204632/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696724000176?utm_source=chatgpt.com

11/27/2025

This year, I’m giving thanks to my supportive patients. It’s an honor to be part of your health journey and your day-to-day wellbeing. Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy, happy, and restful holiday. 🍁

– Michael Zakko, L.Ac.

11/19/2025

November 18 is National Injury Prevention Day – a perfect reminder that the best “treatment” is not getting injured in the first place!

Safety micro-tips for athletes:

🔥 Warm up with movement, not just holding stretches.
5–10 minutes of dynamic, sport-specific drills (skips, lunges, light change-of-direction, activation work) before you go hard. Structured neuromuscular warm-ups and dynamic routines like FIFA 11+ have been shown to reduce sports injury risk.

🔁 Cross-train to give your joints a break.
Mix in low-impact cardio (bike, swim, rower) and 2x/week strength work to spread the load across different muscle groups. Cross-training helps correct muscle imbalances and lowers overuse injury risk while keeping fitness high.

📈 Manage your training load.
Most injuries show up after sudden spikes in volume or intensity, not steady, controlled progression. Sports science research links abrupt workload jumps with higher injury risk, while gradually building a consistent “chronic” training load can actually be protective.

🧠 Recover like it’s part of training (because it is).
Good sleep, smart nutrition, and evidence-based recovery tools like acupuncture and cupping can help reduce pain and inflammation, improve circulation, and support muscle repair after intense exercise.

If you’re ramping up for winter sports, playoffs, or your next race, book a prevention-focused acupuncture session at Synergy Acupuncture. We’ll look at your movement patterns, training load, and nagging pain points, then build a personalized plan to keep you performing at a high level—before something sidelines you. 💪

Sources:
https://bmcsportsscimedrehabil.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13102-023-00703-6

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666337621000081?via%3Dihub

Synergy Acupuncture

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01/25/2026

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12/31/2025

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11/27/2025

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Monday	1pm - 8pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	1pm - 8pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm