Ellen White, England's all-time leading scorer, decided to retire after she suffered a lung injury while receiving treatment for anaphylactic shock.
White said she was still coming to terms with her injuries.
A high number of injuries in the squad at Manchester City meant that a specialist outside the club was needed to help her with her back problems.
She decided to retire this week.
White said she was going to retire from football after England won the European Championship in July.
She said that if you had told her two or three years ago that you were going to retire, she would have said absolutely not.
It was a lot for me to have to go through and a big reason that accelerated my want to retire after I had a lung puncture.
She injured her back when she came back to her club after helping Great Britain reach the Olympic football quarter-finals.
It is believed that City arranged for an external specialist to perform the acupuncture as there was a high number of injuries across their squad following the Olympics, and that it is common practice at the club.
In ancient Chinese medicine, needles are inserted at certain points in the body to promote healing.
She said that the puncture of her lung was not something that happens normally.
It was a traumatic time for me and I'm still figuring out what happened.
The injury left White short of breath and unable to do any physical activity.
I had to wait for the lung to start inflating again. I had a needle put into my chest in order to get the air out of my lungs.
I got into a place where I needed to get back playing. I want to play for my club and I want to play for England.
In August of last year, her club announced that she was going to be on the sidelines for a short time to receive treatment.
She played and scored for England against North Macedonia.
She said that she went very far in her vision. It wasn't until a couple of months later that I realized what had happened and how traumatic it was.
Despite her quick return to goal scoring form, which included becoming the Lionesses record goalscorer in November, she says she is still affected by the injury.
I need to tell my story and say that it was a factor in my decision to retire. There are other factors involved.
I don't want it to happen to other people. I don't want to walk away from the sport if I didn't know about it and if I didn't want it to happen to other people.
The full interview with Ellen White can be seen on the Football Focus website.
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