Austin Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic

Since I started seeing Dr. Brisley mid July, I have a LIFE back. I was «injured» by a boyfriend that fell on me and elbowed me in the neck. The result was 4 bulging disc’s and a herniated disc in my neck. Lots of meds, chronic pain & numbness & I was also having symptoms of MS. My ortho & GP were convinced that I had MS, but trying to get into a MS neurologist in El Paso was a nightmare. In 2014 I had 4 epidurals for pain, and could no longer work. Most of the time it was difficult to speak, and when I did my thoughts were disconnected and I sounded like I was drunk. The majority of the time I needed a cane to walk, or used a walker. I moved to Austin hoping for medical help. Through the National MS site we found out about AO therapy. After seeing a GP & neuro here in Austin, I set my sights on finding a AO Chiropractor. I chose Dr. Brisley not only for her close proximity to my home but after a phone interview with her Office Manager, Jen, I knew she was the right practitioner for me. It is now mid Sept. and I no longer am on meds, can work, and I can’t remember the last time that I needed my cane to walk. Most of the MS symptoms have vanished also. Dr. Brisley is AMAZING. She is kind and considerate, listens to my problem and complaints. In the first month of treatment, I no longer was in bed 80% of the time, and started back to work. She thoroughly explained the procedure, and treatments. I highly recommend Austin Atlas Orthogonal and Dr. Brisley. The AOC treatment itself is non invasive and not painful. The first 2 times the day after the treatment, I would be sore but nothing compared to what I had been experiencing. Such a blessing that I found Dr. Brisley & AAOC !! I know that AO treatment cannot heal 100% of the damage done to my nerves, but it has come close.
Someone else in a review mentioned the cost, but I KNOW it is well worth it. Since this accident my out of pocket medical (elsewhere) has been close to $ 10K a year. THANK YOU DR. BRISLEY & JEN… you are MARVELOUS.

After I had paid $ 405 out-​of-​pocket to establish myself as a new patient in her office, she e-​mailed me a PDF letter «terminating doctor patient relationship.» It provided no reason for termination. When I politely asked the reason, I received no response.
That’s the gist. Below are details.
She normally charges $ 550, if I remember correctly, for new patient consultations. Because I had been a patient of an AO chiropractor in my last city, however, she reduced that fee to $ 325.
During my new patient consultation, she asked good questions about my patient history, she took X-​rays, she examined them with what looked to me like real proficiency, and found that my listing (the adjustment I needed from her instrument) had changed since my last set of X-​rays.
I was grateful. She gave me an adjustment, and over the next day I began to feel noticeably better.
Follow-​up visits are $ 80.00. During my first follow-​up, she checked my neck, found I was out, and gave me another adjustment.
After that adjustment I expressed curiosity about how the AO machine itself works. This is the instrument that does the adjusting. She related an explanation which I didn’t understand, so I asked follow-​up questions. She looked uncomfortable and told me I should just watch the video on her website.
Seeing her distress, I stopped asking questions and agreed I’d just watch the video.
That was a Friday afternoon. By mid-​day Monday I received a PDF document from her assistant, Jennifer, with the filename «LETTER TERMINATING PATIENT RELATIONSHIP.» It was signed by Jeannine and basically said, in legal language, that I should seek out a new primary care chiropractor.
I’ve never received such thing from any health care provider. It provided no reason for termination. At first I e-​mailed asking only «Why?» and received no reply.
I later called her assistant, Jennifer, and asked if I could speak to the doctor. By this point I suspected I must have offended her. I made it clear that, if so, I was mortified and would like to apologize. Jennifer was very polite and said the doctor was with a patient and would call me back when she was free. I received no call.
People have a right to do business with who they want. At the same time, Jeannine Brisley charged me a large fee, for a little over an hour of her time, to get me set up as a new patient in her office. Her follow-​up visits, too, are twice what I’ve been charged by other AO chiropractors.
In any case, $ 405 out-​of-​pocket is a considerable amount of money. In my opinion, once accepting such payment from a patient, a health care provider assumes a certain responsibility for professional conduct.
Recap: I think she’s good at her craft. And I suspect she is thin-​skinned and unwilling to communicate about questions which, I can only assume, offended her. I am sad because her adjustments were helping and it’s hard to find a good AO chiropractor.
In my opinion both the hasty termination and the lack of response are unprofessional. Her assistant has provided no illumination and, at this point, I think this is beyond the assistant’s job description.
—
PS. In reply to Jen C’s comment below: It’s true I uttered a four-​letter word, under my breath I thought, on the phone when booking the original appointment. I was in quite a bit of discomfort and four business days did feel like a lifetime.
The rest of her comment is, similarly, based on at least a grain of truth. I’m glad to know their reasons for termination.
(If you’re wondering about her comments about raising the stars for my review, before reading her comment I removed those paragraphs from my review, fearing they might be misinterpreted.)

Dr Brisley is old school in all the good ways. Unlike most medical professionals I deal with (a lot), she is attentive, caring, and enthusiastic about her specialty without selling it as a singular cure-​all. I’ve had many conversations with her beyond simple «spine troubles» that let me know she was interested in treating me as a person, not just a patient ID number. She has helped me immensely in improving chronic headaches — I came to her at a time when I was at the end of my rope with ineffective cookie-​cutter treatments, and finally got some relief. Almost more importantly, she has helped me begin to understand the critical importance of the spine in overall health — something that seems to be strangely glossed over in modern medicine. If you have back, neck, or head problems that you haven’t been able to get help with anywhere else, I can’t recommend Dr. Brisley highly enough.

We moved to Austin from San Diego in the winter of 2013. Shortly thereafter I started experiencing horrible headaches, visual disturbances, and a feeling I could best describe as intoxication. When this first occurred, I went to the emergency room. They did a MRI and didn’t find anything so they sent me home with the recommendation to see my primary care doctor and ophthalmologist. After seeing these physicians and receiving no diagnosis or treatment, I started doing research on the internet and that is how I found Dr. Brisley.
During my initial appointment Dr. Brisley spent over an hour with me. What was most impressive was that she took the time to not only gather a complete medical history but she took an interest in what was going on personally as well. I appreciated how she was looking to treat «the whole person» rather than just my symptoms.
After four treatment (less than two weeks) my symptoms, which I had suffered with for a month, were gone! No other physician could figure out what was wrong with me, but Dr. Brisley’s treatments healed me in a short time. I am so grateful for the care I received in her office. Dr. Brisley is an excellent clinician. She is knowledgable, compassionate, and her staff is wonderful as well. I highly recommend this office!

As a patient with Lyme Disease, I have worked with dozens of practitioners and doctors over the last two decades. I consider my work with Austin Atlas Orthogonal as the singular most impressive and spectacularly CLEAR modality I have ever experienced. This is based on improvements i had during treatment, which was immediate and dramatic. This happened with each session and successively over the course of that treatment.
When I first started working with Austin Atlas Orthogonal, I had recently been in a car accident. I was in a lot of pain and scared of adjustments. I was impressed not only by the doctors encyclopedic knowledge, but also by her competence. She is 100% present with her patients and I always felt that my case and my healing were important to her. And because she has experienced her own pain, she is very empathic with others. It must also be said that unlike other adjustment therapies, Atlas Orthogonal is gentle. In fact, oddly, you cannot feel a thing. It is just simply the most elegant modality for aligning the atlas, which naturally helps the rest of your body to feel better too.
A review of this office would be incomplete without acknowledging the office manager Jennifer. She is rock-​star fabulous, sweet and also competent. It is no exaggeration to say that I love this office and the women that run it.

This review update is long overdue, especially since I have successfully had two ridiculous trips without any back-​lash of my prior symptoms.
I went on a six week trip which included a 23 day cruise and 3 weeks staying in Brasil. In the past I’ve often struggled with sea sickness, as well as any repetitive movements were difficult for me handle since Oct 2009. I was able to handle the many boats we entered, the horrible driving of taxis/​buses on land, and the long flights necessary for my return to Austin.
Dr. Brisley assessed me upon my return, and my atlas had stayed in place! She then gave me the green light to mountain bike again as long as I adjusted my bike to alleviate strain on my neck area. I’ve also learned how to row in a skull, which is a fun and serene way to strengthen muscles. I am still so excited to see my active self returning!
I recently took a 2 week trip to Cuba and we visited 7 cities during this time. Again, my bouncy transportation, horrible bed situation, and getting sick, gave my atlas a valiant test. And, once again, my atlas had held during my trip and is still in place.
Having the ability to once again travel with very little restrictions has been life-​altering, as I truly thought I had all but lost that ability. Atlas orthogonal chiropractic has changed my life!!!

When I first found Dr. Brisley, I felt like a miracle had occurred. After seeing multiple chiropractors, she was the only one who was able to provide the relief I needed with an atlas alignment. It has now been 2 years since I began seeing Dr. Brisley, with many ups and downs. I have overall come a long way, but I have had setbacks from time to time. The last few weeks have been one of those setbacks for me. I was having some spinal pain that was likely caused by a recent move, but I am unsure of the actual cause. I continued to see Dr. Brisley once a week. The alignments did not hold more than a few days, due to the radiating pain I felt between my shoulders and lower back. I hoped that it would resolve itself, but it did not. So this week at my appointment I mentioned these issues, hoping that we could address these spots and get relief. An adjustment was done on my upper back and hips. But my lower back went unadressed, and due to my non-​assertive nature I left the office without saying anything. The next day however I emailed to let them know that my back pain was still there. I get the feeling that my email was taken very personally, because in response I got an email saying that they will no longer treat me and included a patient/​doctor termination form. Their reasoning was that if their treatment was not working I need to find a new chiropractor. This is not at all the case. The atlas treatment was working and is exactly what I need, however Dr. Brisley has in this case and in the past seemed reluctant to conduct any other chiropractic adjustments other than atlas. She has said out loud as well, that she hates doing these types of adjustments. The fact that they cancelled my appointments, without warning and without enough time to find a new doctor in the meantime, is extremely drastic. Especially considering that she is the only doctor of this specialty in Austin. Their actions were extremely hurtful. I have been visiting their office for quite some time now and I thought I had a good relationship with Dr. Brisley and her office manager Jen. I feel as though a door has been slammed in my face without any consideration to my health or well-​being. I know better than to go where I am not wanted, and will have to do more trial and error to find a new doctor. I have taken this very personally; Dr. Brisley knows of my life and my hard times in the past. I am not a rich person by any means, and it was always a struggle to come up with the funds, but I made it work because I was getting better, and I did not quit. I know that she does not need me, but I need her. And she gave up on me. I understand I am not her ideal patient, since I also have scoliosis and sometimes needed additional spinal attention, but I attended all of my scheduled appointments, paid on time, and was never rude or abusive. Their actions are completely unwarranted, and have created an extreme amount of emotional hurt and stress.

I’m a licensed massage therapist and have worked for 4 different chiropractic offices over the years, and have been treated by perhaps 10 different chiropractors in my lifetime, and never had I experienced chiropractic like this.
AOC is the gentlest and most precise manipulation technique I’ve ever encountered, and it is also the most effective treatment I’ve ever experienced.
I’ve had chronic pain throughout my life, and had resigned myself to a lifetime of discomfort, and thus focused on pain management via regular stretching/​yoga, massage, and acupuncture treatments.
AOC has opened a new door for me, to a reality where I don’t experience as much discomfort as I did before, better enabling me to continue helping others.
So far I’ve had 5 treatments. I felt relief after the first treatment! I signed up for the full year, 40-​treatment plan, which Dr. Brisley offers at an excellent rate, including x-​rays!
Dr. Brisley takes time to explain to her patients what is going on in specific detail, and welcomes any questions you may have. I’ve never met a doctor who took as much time and put as much effort into making sure patients are informed.
Next year I’ll post my revised update, too!
I highly recommend this treatment for anyone who is plagued with chronic or recurring pain and discomfort. It will change your world.

Revised update now that I’ve been going to AAOC for nearly a year. Dr. Brisley continues to amaze me. Last week I either strained my neck doing a home improvement project or while sleeping. In any case, I could not turn my head to the left. I lived on Doan’s Back Pills with moderate success until I got in today for my appointment. I walked out with a full range of motion and as a very happy camper.
I make a point of dropping in once per month for maintenance. It’s a very minor investment in my health that pays big dividends and I will not go anywhere else.

Dr. Jeanine Brisley is the absolute BEST! I had an annoying neck pain for years… I didn’t know what to do about it, went to several chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage salons, etc. — nothing helped. I felt very guarded about going to see another «specialist» and my faith in the treatment was low… I do have small children and the concern that I could not be as active around them as I should be in my early thirties was increasingly alarming to me. Doing nothing about the problem didn’t sit right with me either and I know that no conventional doc could help me with this issue (I am an RN). When I called AAOC for the first time to make an appointment, Jennifer, the office manager, was welcoming of my questions and took time to really talk to me about Dr. B’s practice. She was very flexible in working me into the schedule ASAP (because I was in pain) and very courteous of my own life situation. So, I went to see Dr. Brisley. I am SO HAPPY I did! I was impressed by the depth of her knowledge and compassion. She is a true healer. Before she did anything, just talking to her build up my confidence in what she does and brought clear understanding of what I was about to undergo. The procedure is completely non-​invasive and rather amazing! I felt like a new person the minute she adjusted my atlas for the first time. When I Iooked at my «before» and «after» X-​rays, I nearly fell off the chair! WOW! I like objective data, and the difference of the structure of my neck before and after treatment on film was undeniably obvious! I continue with my treatment and my visits are spaced out a lot more than they used to be. I am holding adjustments for longer now and my neck pain is GONE! It is gone completely! My neck muscles are getting stronger and the healing process is taking place rather smoothly with Dr. B’s guidance. This is the best present I could have given to myself and to my children. I am SO GRATEFUL to have found Dr. Brisley and Austin Atlast Orthogonal Chiropractic.

I played football in college and seriously messed up my neck. The symptoms started getting worse as I turned 30 and in the last 6 months became unbearable. I had a bad experience with a chiropractor in college (he cracked my neck — it was terrible) and was hesitant to seek chiropractic treatment for my neck. A friend referred me to Dr. Brisley and the experience has been better than I could have ever imagined. After one treatment, the pain was relieved. I just had my 6^th treatment and am stable with no recurring symptons… my chronic lower back pain is even gone! Try the Atlas Orthogonal method, it makes so much sense when Dr. Brisley explains it. She is so nice and really takes her time to explain the process and what is happening, I appreciate the education that goes with the treatment. Thanks Dr. Brisley!

Dr. Brisley is a role model for the medical profession. She is caring, compassionate, and a true healer in every sense of the word. I have been under her treatment for six months and am feeling the best I have in years. At age 32, I had forgotten how wonderful life is without chronic neck pain. All the massages in the world don’t help me as much as one atlas adjustment. The adjustments even flattened a 20-​year raised rib cage on my back! You’ll be amazed by Dr. Brisley’s concern and vast knowledge of holistic medicine. and by the miraculous benefits of a procedure that you can’t even feel! Thank you, Dr. Brisley and Jennifer, for being such beautiful people and for bringing me back to health!

I have never been to a chiropractor before seeing Dr. Brisley.
I have one leg longer than the other one and shoulder tension, stiff neck.
I have tried acupuncture, years of massage and pain killers. Nothing worked in the past, it was only managed until the next frozen shoulder week of pain so bad I couldn’t sleep. Then I saw a segment about this on the Dr. TV show. It really does work. I’m a believer. Everything is all balanced and aligned. Great office, very professional. You won’t be sorry you tried this, you will be amazed! Painless, efficient, informative and educational. I wish I had known about this years ago.