The first visit was complimentary because I was referred by a friend. They were running a special, so I paid $50 for full x-rays. The free part of the visit included an orientation movie, a chat with the chiropractor, and a wellness exam. The wellness exam seemed detailed enough and included several different tests, both computerized and not computerized. All of the tests lasted approximately 2 hours from start to finish. The chiropractor, Dr. Cristin, was friendly and listened well.
I was scheduled to come in several days later to get a "YOUR WELLNESS SCORE REPORT". The Wellness Report included such things as core flexibility, core strength, fat mass, BMI, Diastolic BP, HSS (which is a happiness score), Intracellular Water, MSQ (which was a medical report score), phase angle (a general measurement of cellular health, and waist to hip ratio. It did not include photos or information regarding the computerized scan of my spine nor did it include information regarding the x-rays taken. At the end of the Wellness Report, I was given my BEST action plan, which included a total of 72 visits, 4x per week. Coincidentally, I must mention that the clinic is only open 4 days per week. My estimated time to reach full wellness was one year. During the best action plan, I was encouraged to go to the 8 weeks of wellness, a total wellness program involving trainers, exercise, nutrition supplements, massage, and some gadget called a posture pump. The 8 weeks to wellness required a free orientation that would last up to 2 hours. Then we were given the amount this best action plan would cost, apparently only 5 visits being covered by my insurance. The amount was in excess of $4,000.00. We were left in the room to discuss our options.
When she came back in, we agreed to the first 5 of the adjustments, which my insurance would cover, and decided we would discuss it again after those to see if it was helping. Before the adjustment, she ran her computerized scan two more times, as it was unable to do a proper reading. At the end, we still did not have a complete reading.
Prior to the adjustment, you have to sign a consent form giving "Informed Consent" so that you know the risks of chiropractic care. On my form, she hand wrote that I am 2x more likely to get struck by lightening than to have a problem and that there are more than 400 medications that are 27x more likely to cause the same problems. It sounded pretty minimal to me.
The adjustment went okay to begin with. They use a drop table system that, more than anything, makes you feel like you're on a bad carnival ride. I did not feel like any adjustment of my spine occurred, just a lot of "dropping". She assured me that this was a normal feeling, but that it works. Then she had me lie on my back so she could adjust my neck. This was a very aggressive procedure that left me feeling quite nauseous and in great pain immediately. Then she pulled quite aggressively on my legs, causing pain to my knees. When she sat me up, she finished the adjustment by aggressively pulling on each of my arms and then over-extending both elbows. When I left, my neck was seriously hurting and I was quite ill. Plus my elbows and knees felt like I had a sprain.
We called the same evening because I was still hurting and still nauseated. She said that was normal, but that it shouldn't last into the next day. It did.
When we called Monday to cancel the appointment because I was still in pain and nauseated, the front desk lady just said, "Okay!" and left it at that. No call from the Doctor, even though my husband explained the severe side effects I was experiencing.
All in all, it wasn't the absolute worst experience I've ever had at a medical provider, but this is definitely one place I would not recommend. 4x a week is far too often for adjustments at any chiropractor and the aggressiveness of the treatments offered here are quite scary and could result in further damage to your spine or soft tissues. read more
