Frequently Asked Questions

We understand that people do not like going to doctors and instead wish that they were always healthy. We further recognize that when people are in need of seeing a doctor a little treat at the end of the visit makes the visit just a little sweeter.

Yes. We do love patients and especially enjoy taking patients from disabling pain to enjoying life again. We are very fulfilled when we see someone come in hurting and at the end of treatment leave the office happy. Patients often bring in cards, cookies and other goodies because they appreciate the help they have received and we love that positive feedback.

Yes. Often times the significant other does the scheduling when they get tired of hearing the moaning and groaning and just want some answers for their loved one.

Of course, we cannot diagnose your spouse or significant other by interviewing you alone, you will have to get them to join you for the visit, but your coming to help give the story of their pain and problems can be very helpful, even critical, to finding the answers you seek about the cause of their pain.

No. We do not require a referral. We are happy to see people without a referral. In fact, many patients find us by watching TV, looking in the phone book, and browsing the Internet including YouTube and Google. Also, many people call and get scheduled for an appointment after being recommended by their friends that have already received successful treatment.

If your insurance requires a referral, you can still contact us first and many times we can obtain a referral from your primary care, without you having to see them.

We chose the specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) because we like the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s happiness and help them avoid surgery. We understand that surgery is a scary idea, so we completed 4 years of specialty training to find ways to help you, without surgery.

Rather than getting our patients hooked on a bunch of narcotics and pills, we find out the cause of their pain and aim our treatments directly at the cause so they can return to the life they love.

Yes. Both Mari & Kimberly speak Spanish as native speakers.  They help with translation for people who speak Spanish so we can help patients that speak Spanish in their native language.

We are experts in finding the source of your back pain. We always start by listening to you because there are valuable clues in your story that help us figure out what is causing your pain. We are like medical detectives always learning from one patient so we can help the next patient even faster.

We use MRI scans to look for soft tissue injuries like disc injuries. We also use X-ray and CT scans to look for bone fractures and alignment problems. We look at bone scans and review ultrasounds to look for other less common causes of your pain. In addition, we perform EMG Nerve Tests to look for nerve-related causes of your pain.

Once your story, and your exam, along with additional studies such as your MRI and your EMG narrows down the possible causes of your pain, we then test our suspicion with a precise injection that confirms the source of your pain.

Yes. At a conference we attended, the speaker emphasized this point by stating that the only thing that the neck and back have in common is that their last name is spine. The structures may be the same but the size, orientation, arrangement, and purpose of the structures are very different. This is because the neck holds up the head but the back is the anchor of the upper and lower body.

We are specially trained for 4 years after medical school to understand the structures and the differences between the structures of the neck and the back so we can most quickly find the cause of your pain.

Yes. Auto accidents involve sudden and often unexpected trauma. Even though the collision may take only a brief time to occur, the injury to tissues can be significant.

The treatment of collision injuries requires specialized knowledge of what tissues are most often injured and how to find these causes. It requires aggressive intervention to prevent the effects from setting in. We are experts at auto accidents and injuries. See Auto Accidents page for more info.

Yes. It is one of the most exciting parts of our practice when we see patients come into the office crippled by pain from muscle spasms, receive trigger points, and leave feeling better than when they arrived. Many people respond so well that it is the only treatment they need to resolve their pain.

We have been amazed at how well and how quickly trigger points respond to treatment.

Yes. State law requires that people automatically have MedPay as part of their car insurance. MedPay is designed to pay medical expenses for you or anyone else in the car with you in the event of an auto accident, regardless of who was at fault in the accident.

Yes. We work with many attorneys and see patients on a contingency basis. This means we put off collecting on our bills until the case settles and the insurance of the person who is found to be at fault pays for your care.

Yes. We accept cash payments for services and give a ‘prompt pay’ discount. We give this discount to people who pay in cash at the time of their visit to reflect the fact that we do not need to use staff time and office resources to collect the money from insurance companies for your care.

EMG is a Nerve Study used to determine if there is any nerve damage. It can identify problems of the spine that affect the nerves that exit the spine. This is known as radiculopathy. This can help decide if the arm or leg pain is due to radiculopathy or due to inflammation of the nerve known as radiculitis.

It can also determine if patients have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by showing slowing of the median nerve response that is unique to the condition.

No, most people do not find the study painful. The most common word patients use to describe the sensation related to EMG Nerve studies is “weird”.

Yes, epidurals help. They work by blocking inflammation, which can occur from an injury to a disc or from degeneration of the spine.

Yes, we use either an iodine-based solution or if a patient has iodine sensitivity, an alcohol-based solution that kills all the bugs on the skin and makes the area sterile before we do any procedures in that area.