Linnea Varner — C.SMA of the Month (May 2020)

Linnea Varner, DACM, RN, C.SMA

Linnea Varner, DACM, RN, C.SMA is a sports acupuncturist in Washington DC, Annapolis and Baltimore — certified in Sports Medicine Acupuncture^® — and co-owner of East-West Healing Arts.

“I have been a registered nurse for 33 years, and an acupuncturist for 15 years. My practice, East-West Healing Arts, is a group of Registered Nurse Acupuncturists and other holistic healing professionals, serving the greater Annapolis, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area. I graduated from the first SMAC program held at the New England School of Acupuncture in 2010, and taught motor point location at the program held at the Tri-State School of Acupuncture in New York City.

As a Registered Nurse, I have a strong background in Western medicine, pathologies and treatments.  However, it was the SMAC program that provided me with the most comprehensive understanding of musculoskeletal anatomy and physiology, which is now so critical to my treatment of sports injuries and general musculoskeletal issues. My patients range from high school and college athletes to 80 year-old pickle ball champions. The assessment and treatment methods I learned from the SMAC program have resulted in consistent and transformational improvements in function and pain levels for patients of all ages. Because patients tell their physicians and friends about their successes, East-West Healing Arts has earned the reputation as the “place to go” for any type of sports injury.

Our reputation for treating sports injuries has also spread to the community of new acupuncture practitioners in our area. So many new acupuncturists fail in their efforts to launch a new practice because they lack any continuing support from more experienced practitioners after graduation. After receiving many requests to mentor new acupuncturists, we decided to start our mentorship program early in 2019. We provide flexible treatment space, conduct weekly patient rounds to discuss complex treatment issues and strategies and are available for general consultation.

In our patient rounds this week, we discussed a patient with groin pain. Using SMAC principles, we were able to identify key anatomical structures in the groin, review safe needling practices for adductor motor points, make an accurate diagnosis and discuss the importance of integrating the huatuo arc and constitutional points into the treatment plan.

When I asked one of our mentees, Jinell Smithmyer, DACM, about her experience with the mentorship program and specifically the SMAC techniques, she had the following to say:

I’ve been very fortunate to train in Sports Medicine Acupuncture with the incredibly skilled practitioner and teacher, Linnea Varner. The approaches and techniques she’s taught have allowed me to successfully treat a range of conditions including sacroiliac joint pain, supraspinatus tendinopathy, facet joint syndrome, plantar fasciitis, and peroneal tenosynovitis — to name just a few. The clinical results I see with Linnea’s patients and my own have enticed me to take the full range of SMAC trainings as soon as possible. Anyone would be very lucky to receive treatment or mentorship with Linnea. She is one of the best out there!

The enthusiasm among the mentees has been energizing for all, and we are hoping to encourage some future SMAC certified practitioners!”

To connect with Linnea, visit her C.SMA Directory Listing.