Karen Montalbano, DC

Karen Montalbano doesn’t care.
She doesn’t care if you are sick, your kid is sick, life happened to you… she doesn’t care.
She will still charge you full price for a missed appointment, even if you give here a few hours notice. It’s all business with Karen Montalbano.
She is VERY good at what she does, and she will treat you that way, as if she is the only Osteopath in town. Twice she was late for an appointment with me, never once apologized or acknowledged it.
Now she is charging me $ 150 an hour for an appointment I can’t make because my 2 year old son is sick with fever and I have to re-​schedule.
Yes, this is a business, and her time is valuable. But your time as a patient is valuable too, and so is your money, and so is your power to refer people. If you are looking for an excellent Osteopath she is it. But don’t expect compassion, empathy or grace.

Amazing. I was in a ton of pain and felt my body was completely off kilter. I tried traditional chiropractor and the quick adjustments did nothing to relieve my pain. Dr. Montalbano is an Osteopath as well. But to me she is a true healer. She spent an hour and half with gentle manipulation to work thru many kinks in my body I didn’t even know were there. I’m now a regular patient and bring my kids in to see her as well.

OMG ! Three times I have been orthopedic ally challenged and could not walk and three times Dr. Montalbano has treated me with her manipulation and readjusting treatments and I walked out of her office close to pain free. She’s a miracle worker treating the body without use of drugs or surgery but by diagnosing and checking the body’s structure and realigning it to be were it is suppose to be. I have been treated periodically by Dr. Montalbano for over 15 years with different problems that extended from shoulder to foot. She has treated my sciatica, knees, spine, rotary cup and plantar facilities. Adjusting imbalances of my skeletal system, Dr. Montalbano has helped me maintain mobility and free me from pain better than any physical therapist, acupuncturist or medical doctor could do. She knows her field and she is passionate about her work. Willingly she recommends alternative specialists when she knows her expertise can not improve your situation. She listens to you, assesses the problem, explains it to you and then treats you with compassion and concern. When you are in pain, she is surely a San Francisco treat! Go to her, you won’t be sorry.

I don’t normally write Unilocal reviews however I feel compelled to share my experience with Dr. Montalbano as she derserves my highest accolades. After being treated for «restless legs» and «spinal stenosis» for years by specialists and only getting relief from narcotic analgesics, I am now nearly pain free and no longer require any pain medications.
I have been to many other chiropractors and acupuncturists yet only Dr. Montalbano cured my condition. She listens to her patients and is extremely gentle. Her examinations are thorough and she has the ability to feel and then adjust problem areas in the body. I am amazed at my results and definitely would recommend her to anyone suffering from pain.
I have new found respect for the science of Osteopathy and whole body wellness. I can now sit for long periods and sleep without leg and/​or lower back pain. This doctor is remarkable!
She has the healing touch! I now only have to visit for the occasional «tune-​up.»

Dr. Montalbano is now an osteopath — an advanced training (beyond chiropractic) she pursued over the course of 4 — 5 years. I was already seeing her as my chiropractor due to simple lower back pain that would manifest infrequently. Likewise, my visits over several years were when my back would inexplicably and without any real trauma, get very uncomfortable. Since she has become an osteopath, the bar is higher — and she is able to bring another level of treatment to the mix. In fact, she worked on more underlying imbalances to this pain in her body manipulations. This before I actually had a diagnosis related to the periodic generation of pain. I presume I am not her typical patient since my pain is a bit like the seasons (actually I may need to see her 2 x year) but I she has made a difference where it counts. I believe her support is clearly complimentary to other health steps I am taking.

I went in with an MRI Disc report, and told her I had (3) bad cervical disks. She told me that she would review the report later. Without asking me, she grabbed my head, and twisted my neck. I was awaiting neck surgery already, the pain that I have since I visited her, is overwhelming. I contacted her, she told me that I needed to come for more treatments. (For what to break my neck) She should have asked me, before she just grabbed my head, and jerked on it. Stay away!!!

Dr. Laura sheehan, referred me to Karen. She was really good Chiropractor. i been having a lot pain in my back and hand, arm. Relieved the pain. What a great doctor. I would go to her again!

I am a retired and disabled Chiropractor, pretty careful about who works on me so when I say Dr Montalbano is my doctor as well as many other chiropractors, I think that says enough. She is amazing at what she does and is very professional too. You cannot please everyone so in this day of sharing all our thoughts you get to hear the .001% also. If you can get in to see the doctor you will not regret it. You will be rendered a healthier person though not all ailments can be manipulated away… keep up the good work Dr Montalbano.

Karen Montalbano is by far the best chiropractor I’ve ever had (and I’ve had several). I really love the osteopathic care I receive from her. It’s much more effective, holistic, and just makes more sense than traditional chiropractic care. Dr. Montalbano is a truly caring and dedicated healer. She takes her time and has a very pleasant personality, making my time with her all the more enjoyable. She has an amazing touch and she has helped me greatly on my path to healing. I’m very grateful to have found her.

Dr. Montalbano is fantastic. I have been seeing her for about five years. I have Degenerative Disc Disease, 3 herniated discs in my lower back, one in my neck & a chronic pain condition. Last year, I had a pinched nerve in my neck causing intense pain all the way down my left arm. My primary Dr. diagnosed the pinched nerve & sent me to an Orthopedic surgeon who sent me for an MRI. He said: «When do you want to have surgery?» I was hesitant to have surgery on my neck so he said take 3 months off work to rest with no exercise & see how I did. I started seeing Dr. Montalbano twice a week to see if she could help me. I believe she saved me from surgery. I believe surgery for the spine is a last resort treatment because so many people are even worse after surgery. She is not a typical crack your back chiropractor. She is more of a manual therapist who uses gentle chiropractic techniques when appropriate, Gradually, I felt better & within two months my arm was pain free. My neck still bothers me because the herniated disc is still there but the pain is manageable. I now see Dr. Montalbano every three weeks to keep functioning. Sometimes my lower back hurts more than my neck & I am convinced she is psychic because she somehow always knows what I need on any given day to help me feel better. I don’t understand the mean spirited reviews people write which are so subjective & unfair, The office is cozy, clean & comforting. Dr. Montalbano smells clean & NOT like garlic. She is pleasant, conscientious, innovative & most important effective in her treatments. Also she doesn’t tell you you have to come all the time forever, just as long as it takes to feel better with lasting results. Occasionally there is some turnover in the office staff but for the most part they are efficient & friendly. I would recommend her to anyone who wants a different, better kind of chiropractor,

My two cents about Dr. Montalbano is that her methods (and her office!) may not be strictly orthodox, but whenever I am in pain she is able to help me, without the severe crackings that I would get at a traditional chiropractor. She takes a lot of time to tune in to what’s happening in my body, so I can certainly overlook any minor administrative issues there may be. Also, my husband, and just about all of his co-​workers, go to Dr. Montalbano, so obviously she has a good number of satisfied patients. In fact, I hope she has appointments available tomorrow! My back is killing me.

I find it interesting that Dr. Montalbano didn’t send me a message until three days ago (just about the time she could visibly comment online and did, too), when I saw her over two months ago and canceled my follow up appointment just three days later. Aetna and Dr. Montalbano’s office both refer to her as a chiropractor (I even asked the receptionist when I made the appointment if she was a chiropractor and I was told yes). Now she’s saying she’s not a chiropractor. Just what is she, an osteopath? If so, she and her practice should state this upfront. Whatever her practice is, it wasn’t explained to me clearly, and the only written literature I received was regarding my HIPAA rights, nothing refers to her manual techniques.
I didn’t respond to Dr. Montalbano’s Unilocal message sent to me three days ago because I was working. Thanks, though, for pointing out my lag time here. Sorry, Dr. M., but I don’t check Unilocal during the week. And your office just called me two weeks ago (about 7 weeks after my initial appointment) and left me a message asking me if I wanted to schedule another appointment. Your techniques and lack of any type of proactive actions or responses during my actual evaluation and treatment just weren’t for me. Really, I shouldn’t have to pry information out of any doctor or healer.
Separately, I find it interesting that right around the time that I get this Unilocal message from Dr. M, and she responds to my negative review, she gets FIVE 5-​star reviews from individuals who have NEVER used Unilocal.Curious, no? [And Unilocal removed just about all of them, and fairly quickly…]

Dr Montalbano is the best there is. Her treatments are very intuitive and effective. I have been seeing her for years for everything from recovery from an accident to long term chronic injuries such as hip, back, knee, wrist. She’s not a «bone crunching» chiropractor, rather she’s a remarkable healer. I am always amazed at her ability to find the source of the problem and really effect lasting change in my body. While she can run late, it’s because she takes time and care with each patient. It usually doesn’t take her more than a few treatments to work her magic. She’s fabulous and I highly recommend her treatments.

Dr Montalbano is great. She spends quite a bit of time on you. I see her primarily for my sinuses which funny enough can mean she might also work on my legs — but it works! She also does do a little direct manipulation of the head in addition to different lymph nodes to promote drainage. Has stopped my sinus infections! She is usually running a bit behind when I see her but my appointment is never rushed and always worth it. She is also great for various muscle injuries in addition to making my lower back feel like it hasn’t since I was a kid — no pain!

She’s an artist. She sees the curve in the line, can make out the wild animal in the foliage, I love her. She’s got everything she needs, she’s an artist, she don’t look back.

Karen is a truly gifted chiropractor. She doesn’t do forced cracking, doesn’t adjust things that don’t need to be adjusted, and will tell you when you don’t need to come any more. I’m always amazed that I don’t have to tell her what the problem is, or how I caused it — she can always tell (I practice martial arts and I’m always hurting something) — very in tune with the body. And she’s really nice.

Fantastic. I have been seeing a chiropractor for 6 years now. I have also moved 5 times in that period. Being that chiropractor’s are in charge of your alignment and have your neck and back make unsettling noises, I am quite particular. I do my research and am not afraid to be a one timer. Everything needs to be perfect. So once I moved out here, I saw 3 different chiropractors. Dr. Montalbano was my 3^rd and final. She doesn’t pull the «I need to see you every 2 weeks crap.» She let’s you be the judge. Her method is more alternative than the usual, in the sense that she really listens and feels your joints (as to just slamming you down on the table). I can’t explain it, but she was amazing. I love her.