I didn't like this guy. My mother suggested I see him and she thinks he is great. I was open minded, but I am wary of chiropractors because although I have been helped before when I had whiplash, I question a practice that puts you on a canned regimen of ongoing treatment regardless of what ailment you come in with. This is exactly what happened. I came in with an actual neck injury--a neck strain that wouldn't go away and was causing me unbelievable pain. At the worst, I couldn't rest my head. I was carrying hot water bottles and ice packs and a backpack full of care items to work. Because I was a new patient, I was told I would have to reserve one of the time slots they keep just for new patients--this meant waiting, in pain, for over a week. Because I had to commute 20 miles to Issaquah, this also basically required taking time off work to get seen. I went to a chiropractor out of desperation--I was worried I kept reinjuring my neck because it was not aligned correctly.
I did not wait long in the waiting room, the front desk was nice, and the paperwork was easy. However, the doctor barely listened to me. He did not seem interested in my strain--how it happened, what it felt like, nothing. He didn't check my neck or spine or anything the real doctor did. He ran the usual chiropractic tests that they always do, checking your ability to resist, etc. I was pronounced to be weak on my injured side (not surprising to me). He spoke to me for about 5 minutes and then took X-rays. This made me uncomfortable because I didn't know why X-rays were needed for a soft tissue tear. You can't see soft tissue with an X-ray. He did not show me the X-rays. He told me my neck looked like the marketing poster on his wall--only reversed--and that it was not caused by my neck strain and that it would take a regimen of appointments to fix. Then he sent me back to reception to make a follow-up appointment. He was also rude to me and indicated that he didn't like me because I asked why I was not being adjusted today for the reason I came in and had to come back.
I received no adjustment, nor even advice for my injury, nor a copy of the X-rays, nor an explanation of the Atlas method. When I got the bill, it was $142 for the office visit and $65 for the X-rays. He does take insurance, but I am on a HD plan and they covered nothing. I was also in pain, and scared because I could not sleep, or I would not have gone. I imagine that if I did the follow up it would be another $142 for another office visit + more for the actual adjustment, and every one thereafter until my deductible was met. Insurance would pay nothing. I saw no reason to split the visits into two except to extract more money from the patient...or because of bad scheduling, which is what he said when I expressed confusion at having to come back. I also don't know why I needed X-rays.
Afterward, I looked up the origins of chiropractic care and the Atlas method in particular, which was interesting. I won't say there's no good to be had from chiropractic adjustments because I have had whiplash before and chiropractors HAVE helped me. This doctor can probably help you if you are just looking for someone to adjust you gently, but there is a lot of metaphysical nonsense mixed into chiropractic care that I think is weird and I prefer a chiropractor that explains their practice and have some actual medical knowledge of muscles and bones and nerves and how to treat or prevent injuries in conjunction with adjustments (when needed).
I will add that the office sent me my X-rays on CD after I wrote this review. I have no way of knowing if the images are really me, but that was decent, so I upgraded my experience to 2-stars.
My neck eventually healed on its own. I went to a different chiropractor closer to my area to be adjusted too--one who is also a physical therapist and provided some exercises and recommendations for my posture, which may have caused or contributed to the injury. I haven't had any problems since. read more
