I signed up on yelp to write reviews for medical practitioners because I have used yelp in trying…read moreto find help. I have had really severe back problems for 8 years. I used to run races, bike, hike, roller blade etc.. I loved being active. After I had my first child, I could walk but with a great deal of pain and spasms galore. After many, many physical therapists, many many physical medicine doctors, a few chiropractors, I am finally seeing signs of success with Dr. Daniel Shadoan. It really took me 6 visits to see enough change to be optimistic. I kept going to him because this was really my last hope. I had tried everything else. Dr. Shadoan is an incredibly kind and compassionate healer. Every time I see him, I believe he truly wants to help me. I have seen soooo many m.d.s who just prescribed medication, pain relievers, etc. who never touched or looked at my body. It was rare to see an m.d. that I believe wanted me to heal. I had one m.d. tell me I was just going to have to accept that I would be this way (and progressively worse) for the rest of my life! I was not very familiar with d.o.s and had more confidence in m.d.s before seeing Dr. Shadoan. Now, I can't believe I didn't go to a d.o. years and years ago! I drive over an hour one way to get to Dr. Shadoan. He is so worth it. You are the reason I joined yelp. I hope to help other people out there in pain or in need. Don't let the wait list and long wait deter you. I waited 3 months to get an appointment with him but it was well worth it.

How do I begin to describe a 30 year span of caring from the dedicated healing of Eliot Blackman…read moreand Dan Shadoan? The work that was initially done turned my life around. And I will be forever grateful to Dr Eliot Blackman for his presence on our planet. When he needed support in his practice and brought in new talent, I was resistant to giving up going to Eliot. Overtime Dan seem to start channeling Eliot for me. Calm, sincere, connected, conscious, aware, knowledgeable, and effective. I often thought what I would do without Eliot, and he took care of this by bringing in someone who is just like him with the talent and grace to achieve a balanced pain free body. I fell at 3yrs old with a concussion it was at 27 that I found the back pain was due to a structural issue, my L5 and S1 fused. This is when I first had an osteopathic manipulative. In six sessions my life changed. WIth an occasional tune up, or when I over extended myself, I was in for one adjustment and off I went as my body unwound and balanced. Thank you Thank you Thank you.. You have made my living better. Debra M

A wonderful, kind, caring and knowledgeable physician. She is definitely a person to trust with…read moreyour care. She will do her best to heal you.

There aren't enough stars available here. I've never had an experience like this with a doctor and…read moreI'm 70 years old. Irene was excedingly knowledgable, inquisitive, thorough and omg, she was not in a rush. I've never felt like my well being was so important to a physician. I found Dr. Minkowsky doing a google search and I can't believe how lucky I am.

Dr. Minkowsky has been incredibly helpful in my recovery after struggling with sciatica for over a…read moreyear. Thanks to his care and guidance, I'm finally able to move and return to exercise. He is attentive, knowledgeable, and he cares about his patients. The office staff is also very kind, professional, and efficient!

I went to Dr. Minkowsky for a elbow injury - I was told it was tennis elbow but he figured out it's…read moreactually the other elbow injury that is common: "golf elbow". The first step to a solution is to identify the problem! Anyway, he was so much more effective than the physical therapist that I have been going to. He did some adjustments and gave me some simple exercises that solved my problem after years of suffering with this elbow injury (that somehow traveled from one elbow to the other).

Dr. Sundy is one of (if not the) best practitioner I've worked with. He truly embodies a holistic…read moreapproach, taking the time to understand a condition from the body, mind, and spiritual elements. I came to him with a very complex case of a recurring gluteal tendonopathy from running for over a year, layered with a more recent significant thoracic surgery for a tumor removal. He listened and took detailed notes, and made sure I felt comfortable. In addition to being a genuinely kind, intuitive, and compassionate human, he's incredibly intelligent and I'm always impressed at his knowledge of how different body areas work together and affect each other. His work has been extremely effective, I haven't had this good of range of motion in my spine in over half a year - far more effective than the exercises prescribed by my surgeon post op. I've also felt more balanced between my right and left legs (and my range of motion on my affected leg has improved so significantly it genuinely shocked me in the best way possible!). I've also felt more peaceful and optimistic mentally and spiritually. It amazes me when I can feel a difference before and after a session in tighter areas. Dr. Sundy has a gift. He's truly meant to do this work and I'm forever grateful I was led to his care. I can't recommend him enough!

I can't say enough good things about Dr. David Sundy. I walked into his practice unable to walk,…read moresit, sleep, or even find the energy to get through the day. Little by little he helped remove every issue I was struggling with. He is kind, deeply knowledgeable, and trained in many different healing modalities. He has even trained surgeons on how to help patients avoid knee surgery. I've been to so many doctors over the years, but Dr. Sundy is the only one who has truly helped me with my pain and mobility issues in a lasting way. After just my first treatment I already felt real relief. He is absolutely worth every bit of time and money.

I've been a chronic pain patient for a little over 20 years. When the problem first appeared I…read moretried to work through it for nearly a year and finally had surgery to correct it, which it only partially did (no reflection on the surgeon) so I entered the world of chronic pain management. It's not a pleasant place that can also be confusing. After a number of years with different providers I was unhappy with the results. Fortunately I was referred to Dr. Robert Savala in San Francisco and his assistant Dierdre Jo about 15 years ago for interventional pain management. Within no time it was apparent that I was dealing with the right people. My chief pain complaint was lower lumbar, from L-4 to S-1, with significant and crippling bouts of sciatic nerve problems. After a thorough evaluation we agreed that Transforaminal Epidurals were the most likely procedure to yield good results for me. The decision was made after a strong collaborative approach, where he listened to me outline my complex medical history for as long as it took, and he then thoroughly outlined possible approaches and we agreed on a course of action. I'm happy to say that the results were excellent, and every time I've run up against another episode we repeat that same process as needed and keep getting good results. Finally, as for collaboration, his assistant Dierdre Jo is a huge part of the process from start to finish, getting me in to see him and then into surgery centers as quickly as possible. People typically only write reviews if they're either really pleased or really not pleased, and that's true here. Real chronic pain is bad enough to live with, I've seen and been treated by the best, and I've never met anyone I'd rather work with than Dr. Savala and Dierdre Jo.

I am a nurse and have known Dr. Savala professionally and personally for 25 years. I am now a…read morepatient and am thankful that he is my doctor. I've had long covid symptoms for 3 years and the fatigue has been debilitating at times. A friend told me about a stellate ganglion block helping someone she knew and I talked about it with Dr. Savala. We agreed it was worth trying and it has been a game changer and I feel like I have my life back.

I had a terrible pinched nerve near my scapula as a result of sleeping oddly on a camping trip…read more I've never had or heard of anything like this (and neither had Akasia) but she solved it in a single session! I think most people are carrying far more tension and pain around than they need to. I've done my shoulders, low back, forearms, jaw, and more. I never released until releasing the small muscles in the top of my neck that you should be able to look straight up in one smooth motion, with no impedance. I'm a regular at AcuGroup now Five stars from someone who thought needles etc were too "woo" for me. Once your muscles start jumping and releasing I think you'll update! I've recommended all my friends and family to Akasia, and just now remembered that I also need to leave a review!

(I am copying this review from one I left on Jeannie's personal Yelp to make sure it's visible for…read moreAcuGroup, too) Jeannie is a miracle worker! I won't bury the lede - her holistic approach (not just acupuncture) allowed me to get pregnant after a single month of weekly treatment after a few months of trying on our own, at age 39 (!). From our first appointment, I felt that I was in good, capable hands. She has a really well thought out intake process that's much more detailed than what you'd get with other acupuncturists and even functional medicine providers, and she actually acts on the information in the intake form. I have some background in science, nutrition and healthcare and was very impressed with her wealth of knowledge - not just in terms of classical Chinese medicine, but also the most recent integrative Western medicine research to address any concerns and quality of life issues thoughtfully, safely, and effectively. Her intake was very calming and consisted of a back and forth about treatment goals, where in addition to easy to follow advice, she'd recommend additional resources like podcasts or reading if I expressed interest, and she event offered me a device to use for free because she had one at the office. This was followed by a soothing acupuncture session in a darkened, calm room and wave sounds. She has those red lights for your feet or body to make you feel extra cozy during the time the needles are working (which, by the way, are extremely thin and not to be feared - it's a small prick and that's it). Subsequent appointments were also very enjoyable - I felt like I was going to a combination of a spa and true medical guru. Jeannie answered my questions thoroughly and if I had any new concerns come up would readily suggest lifestyle, dietary, or supplement interventions to help, which were effective a number of times, in addition to placing needles at points meant to support whatever was happening. She also has a number of helpful handouts on all sorts of topics. When I first arrived to see her, my nerves were frayed and I was sleeping poorly, and within a few appointments the acupuncture shifted me to a space of more calm and better sleep (it's not my first time with acupuncture, so I knew it'd be helpful for this)... and then I got pregnant! On a personal level, I think Jeannie's warmth and passion for helping, as well as her considerable knowledge base, was a big part of the treatment success. She is truly a gem and has a great sense of humor when you need it, and is very subtle and nurturing - the perfect clinician. She even followed up with me after I sadly had to move far away to make sure that I was getting good care from others. Truly, this was one of the best medical experiences I've had to date (and that's not even counting the incredibly quick pregnancy!); we are so lucky that she still makes the trek to SF for seeing patients. As an aside, the SF AcuGroup office is very easy to get to via public transport, and is always clean and calm. I enjoy seeing all the holistic and Chinese Medicine books on their shelves and the overall pleasant atmosphere.

Two years ago I crashed my mountain bike and broke my femur just below the hip joint which required…read morea hip replacement. Six months into my recovery I suddenly experienced severe pain in my posterior hip and sciatica. The surgeon imaged my hip but couldn't find anything wrong. The pain was so terrible I could barely walk two blocks and started using trekking poles to get around. For a year and half, I went through extensive physical therapy and rehab, which did help, but I never was able to regain full strength in my leg. And it wouldn't take much to put me in excruciating pain which would leave me limping for days. Going to Avid Sports Medicine and getting treatment from Dr. Cupit was literally a life changing experience for me. It was the first time I felt like someone was invested my recovery. After six weeks of shockwave therapy, I was able to move in ways I didn't think were going to be possible again. Dr. Cupit told me the therapy would continue to help me heal in the weeks and months ahead. It's been three months since my last treatment and I'm virtually pain free! I can walk, lift, stretch and cycle again without any limitations. I can't thank Dr. Cupit and Avid Sports Medicine enough. They are my heroes!

This is my 3rd year of getting a series of shock wave treatment. Each series for my type of injury,…read moreat this stage in my journey, has given me a year each of pain free living. To focus on self-care without constantly being aware of that body part. Which is amazing for where I was previously. I'm so grateful to Dr. Jow and the staff at Avid for helping me get back to feeling and living like myself again. I would 100% recommend their facility and the treatments they offer.

I'm picky about chiropractors. My father, brother, and brother-in-law are all chiropractors. I've…read moremet all kinds of chiropractic doctors through my family's professional circles from all over the country. As a child, I dreamed of one day becoming a chiropractor myself. However, before a week ago, I didn't know any chiropractors in SF, where I have lived for the last half decade. Then, I had a neck injury and realized that I needed to find the right doctor to help me. I read Yelp reviews and called the top ranked doctors to speak with them about their methods of diagnosis, adjustment, and measurement of results. I even cheated and had my retired father call doctors to help in the vetting process. To be completely honest, I was largely disappointed. Most SF chiropractors were focused on soft-tissue palpation, spoke primarily about symptoms, and said they didn't take X-rays as part of their diagnosis (how can you tell the degree of spinal subluxation if you don't have a picture of the bone positioning?). But with Dr Michael Zabelin, it was different. His methodology is highly precise, and he is very focused on the cause of the symptoms, as opposed to the symptoms themselves (in my case, constant headaches since my neck injury 5 weeks ago). His diagnosis and measurement was very exact. Today, as part of the hour he spent with me, he took 20 minutes going over a series of X-rays with protractors in hand, showing the extent to which the first vertebrae in my cervical spine was rotated relative to the base of my skull and the second cervical vertebrae. Then he adjusted my first vertebrae (atlas). Immediately, I could feel warmth in my neck as my bone moved in response to Dr Z's specific adjustment. Seven hours later, I'm feeling better than I have over the past 5 weeks since my neck injury. My understanding is that it will probably take somewhere from 2-8 visits for the headaches to go away entirely. I will look forward to updating this review with the results I experience over that time. I should note that if you're looking for fancy offices, and a doctor that promises to fix your symptoms, Cow Hollow Chiropractic is not the place to go. He's been at Fillmore and Union for the past 16 years on a second floor that is accessed by a yellow door with no sign out front. The facility probably hasn't been remodeled once. However, if you are looking for a traditional chiropractor that focuses on correcting the cause of health symptoms you may be experiencing, Dr Z seems to be a great candidate.

A miracle worker in my case. Neck and shoulder pain relieved in the first visit; a couple more…read moresessions afterwards and I was cured. BTW, I'm 74 years old -- well done, Doc.