Chuck Oese — C.SMA of the Month (Aug. 2021)

Chuck Oese, L.Ac., C.SMA

Chuck Oese completed the SMAC program in March 2017, and is now a practicing sports acupuncturist in Littleton, Colorado, at Mountain Sun Sports Medical Clinic.

“Becoming certified in Sports Medicine Acupuncture has been the best professional decision I’ve made since graduating from acupuncture school. I have always been an athlete and attracted to working with athletes, but lacked the confidence to specialize. The Sports Medicine Acupuncture Certification(SMAC) program gave me the knowledge I needed to treat musculoskeletal injuries successfully and the confidence to speak with athletes and other medical professionals in their language.

I have worked with amateur triathlon teams, high school and professional athletes. But, the majority of my clients are the Colorado “weekend warriors” who are just as dedicated to their health as the professional athletes.

The comprehensive approach of treatment I was taught in SMAC is what sets my practice apart from other local acupuncturists and has filled my practice schedule. Here are just a few of the examples of patient and experiences I have had since graduating from the SMAC Program:

1. I recently met with a 75-year old woman who was two weeks away from back surgery to repair her lumbar spine. She was diagnosed by her physician with osteoarthritis of the lumbar vertebrae and degenerative disc disease.I diagnosed this patient with radicular pain originating in the L4-L5 area with the orthopedic exams taught in the SMAC classes. She had seen every type of practitioner and thought she would give acupuncture a try. She saw my profile and focus on sports medicine and back pain treatment. After two treatments, she was completely out of pain and cancelled her surgery. She has been coming once every two months for maintenance and to refocus on her PACE program, but has yet to feel any return of pain in her lower back.
2. Recently, I was referred a patient (Male, age 62) just last month from another SMAC practitioner in Arizona. The referring practitioner wanted me to continue care for him and his Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The patient had a few areas of his body that he wanted to concentrate on, but we decided to use motor points to help activate his leg muscles because his balance was suffering greatly. I used the myotomal motor point treatment method as a guideline. I started with Huatuojiaji points of L3-L5  and in his treatment I used motor points of the following muscles: quadriceps tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, soleus & fibularis longus. After just a few weeks and six treatments later, he visited his ALS physician. Prior to our work together, the patient was unable to complete a balance test for more than a couple seconds, after two weeks of treatment he was able to complete the test for over 60 seconds! I am planning on contacting my patient’s physician to see if the doctor is open to discussion with hopefully a future referral base relationship.
3. Road cycling is a very big sport in Colorado. I recently worked with a patient who rides 350 miles a week. He hadn’t ridden in two weeks due to low back tightness and pain referring to his legs. After testing we concluded that he had SI Joint Dysfunction that was causing the paresthesia. Following the SMAC protocols for acupuncture treatment, myofascial release and PACE, our cyclist reported being 90% better after one treatment and at 100% after treatment two. He continues to come in 1x a month for maintenance, but hasn’t missed a scheduled ride since our first treatment.”

To connect with Chuck Oese, visit him C.SMA Directory Listing.