Schone & Associates DC

I recently sustained a back injury that caused so much pain that I could barely walk. Despite having great health insurance and a caring doctor whose treatment protocol I followed to the letter, it wasn’t improving after six weeks and I could feel how crookedly I was walking and standing. I have never been a fan of chiropractors – the whole concept of manual spine adjustment freaked me out – but this seemed like a job for a chiropractor, so I started asking friends for recommendations. A lot of their stories seemed hippy-​trippy or scary.
Then a good friend, someone who’s just as Type A and suspicious of «kool-​aidy» stuff as I am, recommended Dr. Schone. She described how Dr. Schone handled initial consultations by asking lots of questions, taking x-​rays, and explaining his intended treatment protocol in detail. That sounded good to me, so I called Dr. Schone’s office, and they offered me a same-​day appointment. The office was full of customers coming and going, and there was a big wall of letters from patients describing how Dr. Schone had helped them.
The friendly office assistants got me into an exam room within 5 minutes, and the exam proceeded exactly as my friend had described. Dr. Schone was very kind and patient, and even though the x-​ray was so startling that even a school kid could have pointed to the three vertebrae that were badly out of alignment, Dr. Schone patiently talked me through the specifics while marking up the x-​ray with a grease pencil. He was candid about how much chiropractic work I would probably need, about what he felt the consequences might be if I didn’t pursue it (eventual back surgery), and he was able to describe symptoms I began experiencing years ago that I’d never consciously connected to my recent back injury and hadn’t mentioned in the initial interview.
Dr. Schone then offered to adjust my back. I was scared to death, but he promised that it wouldn’t hurt. He was kind and patient about positioning me on the table, and once he got me to relax, he adjusted me so quickly and smoothly that I didn’t even realize what was happening until it was over. It didn’t hurt, and immediately, the pain from the pinched nerve went from roughly a 4 out of 10 (which, keep in mind, I’d been enduring for weeks on end) to maybe a 1.5 out of 10. It wasn’t a miracle, but I was definitely having an easier time walking in a straight line.
Then I went up to the front desk and got another shock: I knew I had gotten a good rate for the initial consultation, but ALL of Dr. Schone’s rates were extremely reasonable, much more reasonable than the rates I’d been quoted at a few other local chiropractors. I mentioned this to the desk assistant, and she said the rates were even better if you pay at the time of service or pre-​paid in blocks of five adjustments. My insurance ended up covering a lot of the charges, but I still appreciated the low rates because for awhile there, it wasn’t clear how much my insurance would cover.
Edit: I’m now in my fourth week of treatment, and Dr. Schone has continued to impress me. At the third appointment, he presented me with an extensive written report of findings that recapped what we he had explained at the first meeting. My posture is finally starting to feel normal again. At each appointment, he tells me what kinds of symptoms I can probably expect after this adjustment – and so far he’s 6 for 6 at predicting those symptoms. I feel like he’s turning back the clock – by the third appointment, my back felt the way it did about a year ago. For years, I’ve been thinking that I was just prone to slouching. But now it feels very natural to sit with my back straight.
I’ve been delighted by how flexible the appointment system is. I can always seem to get the appointment time I need, and Melissa (who handles billing and insurance for the office) has been very helpful. There’s even Saturday morning appointments out at his Johnstown office, and Dr. Schone gives out his home phone number in case you have emergency needs on weeknights or weekends.
Dr. Schone is definitely a class act and I’d recommend him to anyone.
EDIT, Sept 2015: It’s been nearly 3 years since I started seeing Dr. Schone, and he’s worked miracles. I’ve gone from a back injury so serious that my doctor claimed I should give up horseback riding and running forever, to once again being an active runner, CrossFit athlete, and horseback rider. I never worry about my back anymore, other than dropping by Dr. Schone’s office once monthly for a maintenance/​preventative care visit. I also carried a pregnancy with minimal back pain in 2013 – 2014. I owe Dr. Schone and his staff a debt of gratitude. They’ve given me back a lifestyle that I thought was gone forever.