Saquon Barkley explains why he's turned to acupuncture as his go-to recovery method after taking NFL hits

• Saquon Barkley is back to being one of the most dominant offensive weapons in the NFL.
• Barkley told Insider that acupuncture was one of his preferred methods of recovery after taking big hits in an NFL game.

Saquon Barkley knows a thing or two about taking big hits.

Through the opening five weeks of the 2022 season, Barkley has been the focal point of the New York Giants offense, averaging more than 100 yards on the ground per game as the second-leading rusher in the NFL.

For Barkley, the big start is a special one. After two seasons derailed by nagging injuries, Barkley once again looks like the dominant offensive weapon he was in his rookie season in 2018. Further, Barkley's play has helped the Giants to a 4-1 record, their best start to a season in more than a decade.

Barkley is showing that despite his past injuries and his role as the centerpiece of the Giants attack, he can take the hits defenders put on him week in and week out. In order to do that, he needs to take his recovery seriously.

"You have to get your body checked on, try to get your body aligned back together," Barkley told Insider when asked what the day after an NFL game looked like in the life of a running back.

"Make sure your hips are good. Do the little stuff. I'll get a massage and acupuncture."

Barkley spoke with Insider while promoting Courtyard by Marriott's partnership with the NFL, including their upcoming "Fansgiving" Dinner at MetLife Stadium and Super Bowl Sleepover contest.

For Barkley, the practice of inserting thin needles into the skin at strategic points — a staple of traditional Chinese medicine and often used to treat pain — makes a difference that he can see.

"It's something I've been doing a while," Barkley said. "I like doing things that I can physically see have an impact in my body. You can literally take a needle and put in a spot — when you hit the right spot, you're gonna feel a release. You're gonna feel the tension release.

"Acupuncture, massage, all the stuff that you can do that just help your body and help with active recovery is what I try to put into my routine."

Right now, that routine is working, with Barkley and the Giants off to a red hot start to the season. But for 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year, returning to top form wasn't just a physical struggle, but a mental one as well.

After two disappointing seasons interrupted by injury — to his ankles and a torn ACL — Barkley entered 2022 healthy, in both mind and body.

Asked the difference he feels in himself this year compared to last, Barkley note being "just back mentally."

"The disconnect between the mental part of it and physical part of it last year was definitely something that I noticed when I went back in the off-season and scouted myself. Just going out there, being able to trust myself, trust the scheme, trust the offensive line, and try to make plays."

And make plays he does.

His return to dominance took some time, as Barkley had first hoped to rush back to top form the year after his season-ending ACL tear in 2020.

"Everyone said that your second year after an ACL injury is so much better, but being a competitor, being an athlete, you want to make it right that next year," Barkley said. "Then I ended up hurting my ankle and that set me back."

As things stand, Barkley is the favorite to win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. If he keeps maintains his current level of production, he could wind up the Offensive Player of the Year as well.