Jeffrey Szilagyi — C.SMA of the Month (Feb. 2021)
Jeffrey Szilagyi, L.AC., C.SMA
Jeffrey Szilagyi, L.Ac., C.SMA completed the Sports Medicine Acupuncture Certification (SMAC) program in September 2015, and is now a practicing sports acupuncturist in San Francisco and San Anselmo.
“I graduated from Five Branches University in California and became a Licensed Acupuncturist in 2001. Currently my practice is in two clinic locations in and around San Francisco, California. My patient cases tend to fall into the categories of stress and mental/emotional pain or injuries and physical pain and subsequent limitations. As we acupuncturists know, one often begets the other. I absolutely love using acupuncture and complementary modalities to help my patients regain their well-being at every level I can.
The Sports Medicine Acupuncture Program has given me greater confidence in my ability to accurately assess and effectively treat complex pain syndromes. Prior to learning the comprehensive skillsets the SMA training provided, when pain issues came in the clinic I relied on using Zang Fu and Channels to diagnose and traditional point combinations to treat my patients. Honestly, I often felt like I was shooting in the dark. Those early years of solo practice were stressful, feeling responsible to help people in situations that I didn’t have mastery of.
Finding the SMA courses and learning from Matt and Brian changed that dynamic. The addition of motor points, postural balancing, understanding common orthopedic injuries and being able to distinguish among them, along with novel needle techniques to treat them, has lifted my practice level by an order of magnitude.
I now know that I can find my way through the complex issues that walk in the door. Whether it’s another cervical spine condition or an MCL strain, I am ready for it. When I start asking, examining and then treating, patients can tell too.
Of course, it doesn’t always happen in one session, because healing takes time, but sometimes it does…
A 67 year-old former college football player from University of Oregon came in with, among other things, chronic posterior knee pain. Every night for 13 years he was woken up by the pain. If he had come in before my SMA training, I would have just used UB 40 and the most powerful, local point available. Lucky for him it was after I started studying with Matt!
I evaluated and tested his popliteus muscle, suspecting that it may be playing a role. While UB 40 may have helped over time, directly treating the popliteus motor point one time was enough. And just like that, the nightly chronic pain was gone! It looked like magic, and maybe it is in a way, but it’s also a science, Sports Medicine Acupuncture science.
To connect with Jeffrey, visit him C.SMA Directory Listing.
