Phillip Snell, DC

Dr. Snell is great!!! My husband convinced me to go see him, he swore that Dr. Snell is the best. He was right…
I went in after chronic issues with my knee that were keeping me from running as much as I want to.
Dr. Snell was most interesting in treating the root cause of the issue instead of just treating symptoms like many providers do. To me this is an approach I truly appreciate!

Can’t attest to the quality of treatment, only the availability. On my drive across the country to my new city, I needed a chiropractor and was able to get one to come to my hotel room in Las Vegas, no problem. On the first call, no less. I filter the Unilocal results to include those who were open, and Philip Snell was. I called and was put on hold for a couple minutes. Fine, I thought, eyes on the prize. When the woman came back, I gave her my information: moved to Portland, have no chiropractor yet, but at home went to one about once a week. I have MRI’s and reports, no insurance, and need an adjustment. Fine, she said, offering me a choice of chiropractors. How would I know? Remember, I’m new here! I said as much, adding I was in a lot of pain and just wanted the first available chiropractor. She proceeded to attempt to make an appointment for me for Friday, two and a half days from today! THIS is what irks me about some chiropractic practices: they act as if your pain is trivial, as if loss of mobility and excruciating pain was something one could live with until it’s convenient for their business model. Google «chronic pain suicide». It’s no trivial matter, not something akin to not getting your nails done.
I am looking to relieve pain now, but I am also looking for a chiropractor to give my regular, steady business. Sometimes I would wind up going a couple times a week, but without acute stressors, it averages out to at least once a week. That’s a decent amount of cash, without the hassle of having to fill out insurance forms. No matter how good a chiropractor is, no matter how glowing the reviews, he/​she isn’t going to be doing you any good unless you can plan your chiropractic emergencies around the doctors’ schedule (absurd & unrealistic), or find one who understands the nature of chronic, acute pain, and accepts that there are such things as chiropractic emergencies. Looks like the Phillip Snell DC practice thinks a patient should endure until it’s convenient for them. No thank you.

I was having a lot of trouble healing from a broken ankle a few months ago. As a naturopath and acupuncturist, I have a pretty good idea of the different modalities out there that help with healing. I found it very frustrating that all the things I was doing– physical therapy, acupuncture, herbs, massage, cold laser therapy, hydrotherapy, and prolotherapy were not getting me out of the constant pain. They would all help, but just not enough. I heard about Dr. Snell and since was close to my home and took my insurance I decided to give him a try. Within half an hour I was able to walk SO much better and was able to ditch the cane and ankle brace my PT had me using. Two visits later, I was out of my constant pain. Amazing!
Dr. Snell is extremely efficient at assessing and diagnosing your situation. I also appreciate that he will not manipulate any joints that don’t need it. He focuses a lot more on therapeutic exercises. I have to say I was WAY more compliant with his exercise prescriptions than the homework the PT gave me because they WORKED.
If you are in pain, Dr. Snell will fix you– FAST.

I’m really thankful to have come across Dr. Snell. After 20 years of fighting a sports-​induced back injury, I went to see him on a friend’s recommendation. With the rapport and transparency shared by the best teachers, he walked me through my mechanical issues and empowered me with evidence-​based exercises and posture-​training techniques. After a few sessions, my back felt its best in 20 years.
I’m not sure Dr. Snell ever used the word «empower» with me, but that theme really came across in everything he did. He will do everything in his extensive powers to help your body — always with an eye to teaching you how to better care for yourself.
Not to mention that he’s as witty and encouraging as he is knowledgable and skilled — a true rara avis.

I am a new chiropractor in Seattle, but went to school in Portland. I met Dr. Snell after he came and talked at the school as a subject matter expert. I was very impressed and went and shadowed him to watch him work. Amazing. I subsequently had my wife go see him as a patient and she had great results. Whenever I have someone in need of care that lives in or around Portland, he is the FIRST person I would send them to. Can’t speak highly enough about him.

If I could add more stars I would! Phillip has been the saving grace of my back injuries and re-​education about how to heal myself. I love that he is more then the average Chiropractor. He is patient, a great communicator, and his skills will blow your mind. He has a passion for getting people moving again to do the things they love to do. He has your physical health as a primary concern. His laugh will make you fall over giggling yourself.
Great man.

Dr. Snell was top notch, very approachable and competent.

Ever since a yoga injury (yes, yoga, Bikram can be crazy), I sustained ten years ago I have been seeing various chiropractors. All of them were kind but the relief they offered was temporary. Dr. Snell was the first chiropractor that seemed to have my best interest in mind as well as the confidence that my body was able to be entirely functional again. He very thoroughly checked my body; strength, flexibility, etc until he pinpointed the issue. Other chiropractors had been popping my misbehaving s.i. joint back into place without much of a plan for long term functionality. Over the course of three visits Dr. Snell explained exactly what he believed the problem to be and prescribed a number of stretches and strength building exercises. I am happy to report that I have had the best success with Dr. Snell’s support. Besides the fact that he is articulate and patient and very adept at explaining the body, he is an exceedingly nice guy with a good sense of humor. Go see him. Oh yeah, and his website is very informative and useful as well!

Dr. Snell practices with compassion, humor and straightforwardness. I went to see him about an acute calf injury, needing to be up and running again (literally!) in a very short time period. He made it possible, and I would recommend him to anyone needing chiropractic or Graston technique performed.

I started going to Dr. Snell a couple of years ago when I was suffering from some chronic back pain. My back would go out easily, whenever I did any heavy lifting, gardening, or particularly stressful things like hosting my family for the holidays. ;) I would limp around for weeks, even months, unable to be normally active.
So I found Dr. Snell and made an appointment. And. He. Was. Absolutely. Fabulous. From his witty repartee and GREAT communication to his wonderful approach and expert knowledge in the field of chiropractice (is that a word?), he was awesome. He taught me some exercises, examined my posture, taught me new techniques for lifting and stretching, and identified my problem, all before draping me in hot pads and leaving me to doze cozily for ten minutes on the soft table. When he came back, he gave me the best adjustment of my life (I would later float out of the office on some kind of glorious spine-​alignment high).
After he’d skillfully put all my bones back where they belonged, he explained why he wanted to recommend I come back for a follow-​up appointment to fully correct my chronic problem. He had already educated me about what was happening with my back AND what was required to correct it, and I knew his assessment was sound. Plus, there were hot pads involved. I eagerly signed up for another appointment so we could do this again.
I went back to Snell a couple more times over the next couple of months, and was almost sorry when he informed me that as long as I kept taking good care of my back, we didn’t need to make another appointment. My point is here that he didn’t milk me for more appointments, though I would have been willing to make them.
Later on the following year, he was fabulous again when I developed some tendonitis and carpal tunnel symptoms; he once again knew just what to do, then sent me on my way once the problems were resolved.
In short:
You will always walk out of Snell’s office feeling better, and knowing more about your body than you did before.
You will laugh out loud during your appointment.
You will see what I mean about the hot pads.

Dr. Snell is an amazing Chiropractor. Ever been to one before that is happy when he DOESN’T see you all the time? He not only helps you fix your back/​posture/​injury issues, but explains everything to an extent that helps you understand what you can do after you leave the office.
I started to see him after sleeping on a bad mattress, then again after a car accident injury and boy, was I happy I did! He very well aided me in re-​doing my whole posture (a life-​changing thing). I am forever grateful!
Dr. Snell is very passionate about what he does, which makes a huge difference. He’s very serious about his work, but is fun to see and talk to as well!
Also, absolutely love this whole practice (Hawthorne Wellness Center).

Dr. Snell is the BEST chiropractor I’ve ever been to. Unlike ones I’ve seen in the past that seem to draw steadily from my bank account and give me doom and gloom about how bad my back is, Dr. Snell made me feel really good and hopeful, and backed it up (no pun intended) with excellent care, and lots of do it yourself techniques that have me going to see him a few times a year, and not every week!
He always takes extra time to show me strengthening exercises, and talks to me about my muscle groups so I really understand whats going on. I was in a car accident last year (i was already his patient), and he really helped me work thought the back pain way faster then I thought I would, and I used a lot of his exercises at home.
He even stayed late for me one day when I had a flight the next morning and had strained my lower back! Now that’s and awesome doctor.

Listen… my mother is a chiropractor. I personally have been adjusted by more than 30 chiropractors in my life. I consider myself a bit of a chiropractor connoisseur.
Dr. Snell is terrific. He gives great adjustments. Really, what more can I say?

I found Dr. Snell in a Google search, and then there were almost 40 reviews on Citysearch and most of the reviews were good so I decided to check it out as he was on my health plan.
The place was very easy to find, easy to park, and very welcoming. I ended up needing to change my appointment on the day of my appointment — and they didn’t give me any problems. If fact, they are so busy that when I called back later that day to try to get it back, it was gone already. So I had to wait another week just to get back in there, which made me a little sad — but it was my own fault.
Dr. Snell was knowledgeable, and didn’t talk down to me in any way — which I can sometimes find with the Dr. folk. The treatment was all together different from anything that I had received in the past, and it was fantastic. I really appreciate working with chiropractors that are more into the sports medicine because I feel that they are better at listening to what my body is saying — and believe you me, it has a lot to say. Plus, he takes a bit more natural route — and I didn’t have to sit through a bunch of x-​rays which I also hate about going to the chiropractor for the first time. Also, he did a lot of massaging, and I absolutely love that — it’s definitely a better way for me to get loosened up prior to an adjustment, and for that I was thankful.
After the adjustment, I got a little electrical stimulation on the problem areas and some extra perfect heating pads. They were the perfect temperature, and now I feel like I could really use a nap.
The only issue that I would say is that I was cold as all get-​out when I first was sitting in the exam room. It killed me. Once you start working on the adjustment though, you forget all about it.
Overall great experience and I will definitely return… in fact, that reminds me — I need to make an appointment right now.