I went here based on the outstanding reviews but I feel I need to share my personal experience.
I have been dealing with chronic neck/upper back issues for many years. I have made great progress over the years with physical therapy, dry needling, and nkt. However, I am new(ish) to Austin, and I was feeling set backs with all the chaos/working from home during a pandemic so it was time to find a new trusted professional. Based on the reviews I wasn't too nervous to try out Cristi but I overall I had a very negative experience. I truly hate writing negative reviews but given the experience I had I feel obligated to share.
Since I have been through so much recovery with my injury (we're talking barely can move my neck, lift my arms) I was scared she may have done permanent damage after the session. I immediately reached out to my old PT and she confirmed with dry needling the specialist should only be gently finessing the muscles, and paying close attention to how they are reacting. However, this is not what happened during my session. It was hard to process in the moment because I admit I came into this session very tight and I do have a very high pain tolerance but when I got up I knew she went way overboard with the needling. My traps were extremely red and puffy and I was so sore. In the past, I could still move around after a session but it seriously just felt like I got into an accident, which is not how this should feel.
The next day I experienced bruising which really shouldn't happen if the PT knows what they are doing. I checked with my previous physical therapist and showed pictures and she confirmed this rarely should happen. I've been waiting to post this review because it took me 2 full weeks to actually feel recovered from this painful experience.
Cristi did reach out the week after my appointment to ask how I was doing, which was nice of her. However, she even admitted that she was not seeing my muscles supple throughout the process. I let her know I wish she would have stopped treatment if she wasn't seeing the reaction she normally gets!
Based on her reviews I'm glad others didn't have the same experience I had but I can assure what I went through is not how this is supposed to feel.
(Also note, I was very hydrated, and have no medical conditions that may interfere with dry needling) read more