1/5 Christen B. 5 years ago on Google • 1 review
I
accompanied
my
mom
to
her
appointment
with
Dr.
Pongonis,
who
was
referred
to
us
by
an
excellent
spinal
specialist
she
had
seen
recently.
That
doctor
had
also
referred
her
to
a
physical
therapist
who
she
had
been
seeing
regularly
leading
up
to
the
appointment
with
Dr.
Pongonis
and
was
seeing
amazing
results.
She
had
gone
from
being
almost
immobile
and
in
debilitating
pain
due
to
SI
joint
issues
to
being
almost
pain
free
in
about
a
month,
but
we
had
scheduled
this
appointment
a
while
back
and
decided
to
go
anyway
just
to
get
some
tips
going
forward.
Here
are
some
quotes
that
came
out
of
Dr.
Pongonis'
mouth:
After
drawing
the
S
curve
of
the
spine
on
a
napkin,
he
proceeded
to
say
"If
I
brought
this
to
an
architect
and
told
him
to
build
me
a
building
with
an
I
beam
shaped
like
this,
it
would
be
the
most
unstable
structure.
The
shape
of
the
human
spine
guarantees
injury
and
pain."
Mr.
Sports
Medicine
apparently
doesn't
have
a
full
understanding
of
how
muscles
and
soft
tissues
make
the
human
body
different
from
an
inanimate
building,
or
perhaps
doesn't
want
to
empower
his
patients
by
sharing
that
fact.
He
then
says:
"9/10
people
you
see
walking
out
of
here
have
recurring
back
problems,
and
you're
one
of
them.
I'm
one
of
them.
I've
been
a
back
patient
since
college
and
always
will
be."
Mom
says,
discouraged..."Okay,
I
just
want
to
make
sure
I
don't
end
up
completely
debilitated
and
in
a
wheelchair
again"
(my
mom
is
only
in
her
mid
50s
by
the
way).
His
response?
A
shrug
of
the
shoulders
and
"I
wish
I
could
promise
you
that,
but
like
I
said
the
spine
is
just
not
built
for
success."
I
say
"So
what
do
you
have
to
say
about
the
people
who
have
never
had
back
injuries?"
He
says
"I
think
they're
lying."
He
left
the
room
having
offered
us
no
recommendation
for
exercises
or
therapy,
no
advice
WHATSOEVER.
This
entire
visit,
all
he
did
was
essentially
try
to
convince
my
mother
that
she
will
likely
be
back
in
a
wheelchair
again
at
LEAST
once
throughout
her
life.
My
mother
knows
better
and
so
do
I,
but
the
concerning
thing
is
how
many
of
his
patients
he
has
left
with
this
same
pessimism
who
actually
believe
him.
The
placebo
effect
scientifically
proves
that
what
we
believe
about
our
body
actually
influences
our
symptoms
and
healing.
How
many
people
will
stay
broken
forever
and
give
up
on
their
healing
because
this
man
tells
them
they're
doomed.
Doctors
are
in
the
business
of
healing
and
helping,
this
man
is
doing
a
terrible
job
of
that.
I
would
not
recommend
him
to
my
worst
enemy.
Honestly
I
hope
he
never
throws
his
back
out
again
so
he
can
see
that
healing
is
possible.
I
wish
we
could
get
our
money
back
for
detestable
medical
experiences
the
way
we
could
get
our
meals
comped
and
return
retail
items.
This
was
a
waste
of
time
and
a
huge
disappointment.
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