Erik Isaacman — C.SMA of the Month (Jun. 2019)

Erik Isaacman, L.Ac, C.SMA

Erik Isaacman is one of our graduates who is now a successful Portland sports acupuncturist. Here is what he says about how the SMAC Program has helped shape his practice:

“The knowledge I have gained from the SMAC program has made me a more effective clinician when treating both musculoskeletal pain as well internal organ disorders.

I had a 71 year- old patient come in for Gastroparesis about six months after completing the program. In addition to severe nausea and vomiting, this patient also reported having mid back pain. When I started to palpate her spine, I discovered that she had fixations at the level of T11 and T12, the level of the Stomach and the Spleen. Palpation at the spinous process and facets at these levels elicited a lot of pain. I needled the facets, as we had been taught in Module I of the SMAC program, and also did the manual work to help release the fixations. Over the course of three treatments, her back pain improved as did her Gastroparesis symptoms. Since then, I have had many Gastroparesis patients come in and they all present with fixations at this spinal segment. As the fixations resolved, so did their symptoms and, in at least one case, the nausea and vomiting improved enough so that herbal therapy could be tolerated.

Prior to my SMAC training, I would have probably only treated the back shu points in the lower thoracic area. I never would have known to explore for facet fixations, let alone trust needling deeply enough to impact these joints. I am a more well-rounded clinician with an improved ability to treat both internal and external pain as result of my SMAC training.”

To see our other featured C.SMAs, please visit our C.SMA of the Month page.

To connect with Erik, visit their listing in the C.SMA Practitioner Directory: Erik Isaacman, L.Ac, C.SMA