Dody Chang — C.SMA of the Month (Jan. 2021)

Dody Chang, L.Ac., C.SMA

Dody Chang, L.Ac., C.SMA completed the Sports Medicine Acupuncture Certification (SMAC) program in September 2014, and is now a practicing sports acupuncturist in New York City.

“Having practiced over the past 20 years with an integrative medicine approach in mind, I’ve often work collaboratively with doctors, physical therapists, nutritionists, psychotherapists, and other healthcare practitioners.  With regard to orthopedic conditions, the SMAC training has given me the foundation to dialogue and even closely collaborate with orthopedists and physical therapists. I have established a network of world-class doctors and physical therapists who refer patients to me and to whom I can send my patients. This reciprocity is a direct benefit of my SMAC training.

I was inspired to hear about Matt Callison’s collaboration with a pelvic floor specialist here in NYC to help patients suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction. This story piqued my interest to work together with a well-respected functional manual physical therapist, here in NYC. He and I would often share mutual patients and we would communicate with each other about our treatment strategy and findings, but we had never joined forces to actively work a case together.

When I heard about (Matt’s) use of distal and empirical points to help structural imbalances, it occurred to me that (the physical therapist) and I should try to co-treat some difficult cases. We started to collaborate on some patients together and found that for recalcitrant and challenging cases, we were able to make significant shifts that may not have been possible working just individually. We teamed up to treat a professional basketball player who found our sessions to be most beneficial to his long-term injuries. This is a guy who had seen many different doctors and therapists during his years playing in the NBA.

In another case, we co-treated a 40 year-old woman with a left hip replacement. She had severe bilateral anterior tilt and difficulty with hip external and internal rotation. Knowing about lower crossed syndrome and pelvic imbalances helped me treat the patient, using distal points related to anterior tilt and targeting inhibited and overactive muscles. It was an incredible compliment to what the physical therapist was doing and achieved great results that surprised us all!

I believe my SMAC training has given me the knowledge and qualifications to earn the respect of colleagues and patients. Now I can confidently collaborate with doctors and physical therapists for additional interventions and movement therapy to accelerate a patient’s recovery and bring their healthcare to the next level.”