I usually try to wait after a few visits before I write a review for a business or service to be sure I'm not giving five stars (or two) for a one-time thing, but this is one of which I'm honestly quite confident. For over two months, I have heard of Dr. Kim and his massage staff's wonders from my friend. After each visit she promised to give me the contact (which she still hasn't!), and now I am kicking myself that I did not look the clinic up on Yelp on my own!
I've been to a local sports chiropractor once, I think he was quite known and popular back then (IDK about now too). He was a jerk and quite unprofessional and was really pushy to get me and my then-partner to buy pricey packages. He badgered us about our finances and made snarky comments as we stupidly stayed and allowed this abuse because I didn't yet know how to say "no". That one terrible experience has made me leery of seeking services that require long-term/follow-up care, particularly if it's chiropractic-related.
From my friend's stories and the other Yelp reviews, it seems like Dr. Kim is not like that at all. I submitted a request for appointment via the clinic website on a Saturday night, and received a call from Stacy on Monday. My main concern at this point was how much was it gonna cost me. Stacy looked up what type of benefits I had under my husband's insurance plan, and gave me two possible co-pay rates (one with deductible and one without). The one with deductible sounded doable so I went ahead and made an appointment; she said she will call the insurance company to confirm first thing the next morning. As luck would have it, there was a cancellation/ opening for the next day afternoon! But also that very night, I realized I forgot I had class at the same time so I left a voice message to reschedule. Someone texted me the next morning (so convenient!!) and got me into another opening/ cancellation.
The receptionist was polite and friendly when I checked in. The business of me filling out the intake form and her making a copy of my information was swift and efficient. The consultation with Dr. Kim was also very swift and efficient. He gives very specific directions but is also quite gentle (I guess so as not to sound like he's bossing you around haha). When I casually declared that I have mild scoliosis, he very gently asked me whose diagnosis? I thought about it and said it was a self-diagnosis haha. Since young I've always had a slightly curved spine (first noted at a health check up, and subsequently re-confirmed with my own eyes after every X-Ray I've ever taken) and bad posture. I believe working from home in the last twelve months made my posture a lot worse because I don't have a proper working desk and chair (I sit on the couch, on my bed, on the floor, etc.) I found myself struggling to get up and almost always will have lower back pains, which I attributed to aging.
Anyway, so he did a series of adjustments, during one of which I heard my vertebrae crack. Not gonna lie, some of those adjustments were quite painful (and also a little outside my comfort zone) that I had to catch my breath a few times. Then he told me to lie face down on the mat/chair and the next thing I know he was using a tool that I can only describe as a hand massager/jackhammer which was followed by another tool that sounds like a staple gun. Then, he used what I presume to be the ultrasound tool that other reviewers mention because he warned me about the cold, which was the gel. So he didn't elaborate what he did, and I didn't need to know, not like I would remember anyway. But he did ask me," How long has your back been like that?" Like what? "In such a bad shape." Uh, I don't know. A year? (Possibly longer!!!) Then he taped me up and it's all over, maybe under 30 minutes?
As I was making my way to the reception to pay, he called out breezily, "OK come back whenever." Wow, OK, sure. Then, as if on second thought, he added "Maybe between two weeks and a month." OK I can do that, because I found out I don't have to fork out a deductible, yeah!
Sorry for the longwinded story, but basically it seems like Dr. Kim doesn't want people to keep coming back to him unless they need to and it's so refreshing! The clinic itself is so hidden and unassuming, almost as if like he doesn't really want people to know they're there. I've been nudging my husband who also has chronic pain issues to see Dr. Kim. Super happy to have come to him and am really looking forward to the massage with my next appointment!
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