I have driven by Dr. Allen's office at least a million times, yet I had been seeing another chiropractor in North Hollywood for years, with no great success. Little did I know that relief was within mere WALKING DISTANCE of my home!
First, I checked other Yelp reviews and as you can see they're very positive. Then, I called his office and Tammy, his assistant, is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She suggested I come by to meet Dr. Allen and talk with him, to see if he would be able to help me. So, I did exactly that and I was very impressed.
By the outside of his office, you wouldn't realize that inside is a beautifully decorated suite of exam rooms with the latest in equipment. It's a small waiting room that's very comfortable, and his people are professional, yet warm and very caring. When I met him, I was impressed by how professional he is, how well he listens, how thoughtful he is when suggesting treatment parameters, that he actually examines a patient instead of poking here and there and blithely making a diagnosis. On the strength of that initial consult, I decided to return for treatment the next week.
For several months, my lower back has had me in pretty severe pain, including sciatic pain down my left leg -- sometimes, down both legs, to the point where there are days I get out of bed almost crying, then need my cane to simply walk across the room. I have osteoarthritis in my back, shoulders, hips and knees, partially inherited but also because I wasn't exactly too kind to my body in my youth and early middle-age. My previous chiropractor was a "snap, crack and POP!" guy -- I always felt kind of like I was a number on an assembly line with him, and his adjustments (he only had three moves) were pretty rough. He always made a huge deal of how loud the crack was, which was his idea of progress. I'd leave feeling very sore and the adjustments never lasted.
When I saw Dr. Allen, he made it clear his treatments have nothing to do with popping and cracking, and that's absolutely true. His treatment for my back consists of lengthening the space between lower vertebrae, to take the pressure off of my sciatic nerve. He has been using traction, and the traction table is comfortable yet very effective. This has been followed by ultrasound, which is great for alleviating pain. Followed by his adjustments, which are gentle and do not leave me sore. There is no popping, no snapping, and definitely no cracking!
During today's treatment, he was able to adjust my hip to the point where the extremely bad pain I'd been having for months was actually gone during my two-mile walk, and then when it did recur it was *considerably less* than it's been in MONTHS.
He also offers cold laser therapy, and if you're not familiar with it, you should be. It's a boon for those who have repetitive stress injuries. (I was actually in the clinical trials for cold laser therapy when it was first being considered for FDA approval, and it literally saved my writing career at the time, because my CTS was so severe.) I have a torn rotator cuff and it's given me a lot of pain for so long, especially when I'd reach for something high or low on shelves. After one treatment, the pain was lessened and I could tell the swelling was reduced. I've had more treatments since, and my range of motion is steadily improving without pain.
Before I met Dr. Allen, I had tried going to a pain management doctor and was thoroughly UNimpressed with that guy. He looked like a strung-out surfer dude, never really gave me alternatives to drugs, and had me on 80mg of OxyContin twice daily. When that didn't work, he switched me to a combination of Norco and methadone, after I'd been on morphine -- yes, the pain was that severe. All those narcotics did was make me fall asleep during conversations with my family and friends, sleep all day and gain weight. I knew there *had* to be a better alternative and so did my regular Internal Medicine doc.
I truly though I'd just have to "suck it up, Buttercup" and keep tolerating the pain, a depressing thought at best. However, now that I've met and become a patient of Dr. Allen, I'm already enjoying greater mobility, my pain is less than it was, and his services are very affordable. He is both a gentle man and a gentleman. You'll love meeting Tammy and Jeanette, too. (I hope I have J's name right, because I'm terrible with names!) My main regret is that I hadn't called Dr. Allen's office sooner -- I could have saved myself about TWO YEARS of time, expense, PAIN and anxiety that were spent via the Pain Management dude.
If you have insurance, call them, because they do accept many insurance plans. If you're like me and don't have insurance at the moment, call them anyway -- because they're much more affordable than expensive narcotics to mask your pain while you keep doing more damage to your body. You cannot afford to be without your good health! read more