Daniel A Shadoan, DO

dr. shadoan is a miracle worker!

Words cannot describe how amazing my experience with Dr. Gilmartin has been. I have had issues with SI for two years. He is the first person to address it in a way that actually is making adjustments to correct my pains and imbalances.
I can’t say I understand exactly how osteopath is able to heal you body but damn it really works.
It isn’t the best if your insurance doesn’t cover it, but somethings you can’t compromise.
He and the staff are also very helpful and personable which for me is a plus.

I’m like the many who’ve posted here– dealing with an issue for over 10 yrs with PT, Rolfing, needles, Chiro, Alexander technique class, yoga, dance improv, PT, cortisone shots, PT, core strengthening exercises, you name it.
Finally I read a book «Healing Back Pain,» which completely changed the way I think about my health. And started doing DO regularly.
I’ve hesitated to write a review for Dr Dan not because he doesn’t deserve one– he just doesn’t need it. He has a wait list for new patients, he doesn’t take insurance (but will give you a recpt that you can use for reimbursement). He’s passionate about healing, widely read, and will make you rethink healing and illness.
You can read more about osteopathy on his practice’s website– the link to Andrew Weil’s chapter from «Spontaneous Healing» is particularly interesting. At times he has students from the local DO college observe and even participate, given your permission.
For me it’s 2 for 1 and fascinating to hear what they say to one another. Largely, Dr Dan starts with this:
«This person is really quite healthy– our job is just to help his body get back into equilibrium to regain his health.» And then you hear about how all these things are connected (really, the foot bone is connected to the shin bone; the shin bone is connected to the…)
I decided to write this review because today I was telling a coworker about my cold, and she asked me, «So what did your doctor tell you was wrong with you?»
My doctor, I said, didn’t tell me what was wrong with me, just what’s right with me.
She laughed, and so did I.
PS– I forgot to mention: he seems to have cured my heart arrhythmia, a benign irregular heartbeat I’ve had since I became an adult. Over the years people would notice it in my pulse– just irregular heartbeats. Cardiologists said it was fine, after numerous EKGs, stress tests, wearing a girdle (to record a day’s heartbeats). They said just to avoid stimulants like caffeine, or muscle relaxants; and if it ever got symptomatic (dizziness, etc.), then there were two things we could do: use a wire to burn out the nerve that’s causing the misfiring, a pretty simple-​sounding surgical procedure; or take beta-​blockers. Simple eh? Well Dr Dan noticed it, and said that b/​c of some restrictions in my upper spine, the offending nerve was irritated, and most likely causing the misfiring of my heart. So he set out to work on that. After seeing him for a few months, it does seem like the arrhythmia is gone. AFTER EVERY CARDIOLOGIST OVER THE YEARS HAS TOLD ME IT WAS A LIFELONG CONDITION. Amazing, eh?

I signed up on Unilocal to write reviews for medical practitioners because I have used Unilocal in trying to find help. I have had really severe back problems for 8 years. I used to run races, bike, hike, roller blade etc. I loved being active. After I had my first child, I could walk but with a great deal of pain and spasms galore.
After many, many physical therapists, many many physical medicine doctors, a few chiropractors, I am finally seeing signs of success with Dr. Daniel Shadoan. It really took me 6 visits to see enough change to be optimistic. I kept going to him because this was really my last hope. I had tried everything else.
Dr. Shadoan is an incredibly kind and compassionate healer. Every time I see him, I believe he truly wants to help me. I have seen soooo many m.d.s who just prescribed medication, pain relievers, etc. who never touched or looked at my body. It was rare to see an m.d. that I believe wanted me to heal. I had one m.d. tell me I was just going to have to accept that I would be this way (and progressively worse) for the rest of my life!
I was not very familiar with d.o.s and had more confidence in m.d.s before seeing Dr. Shadoan. Now, I can’t believe I didn’t go to a d.o. years and years ago!
I drive over an hour one way to get to Dr. Shadoan. He is so worth it. You are the reason I joined Unilocal.I hope to help other people out there in pain or in need.
Don’t let the wait list and long wait deter you. I waited 3 months to get an appointment with him but it was well worth it.

I’ve known Dr. Shadoan for almost five years now. I can tell you he is a wonderful person and great doctor. He helped me and my wife a lot. I wish my insurance would cover his services as it’s not cheap, but definitely money well spend. Highly recommend him.

I started seeing Dan about 2 years ago when a client of my husbands sent me over. I had no idea what to expect. I have Arnold Chiari Malformation and was on my way to the operating room basically. I had seen every specialist and tried every drug out there, including Botox therapy. Nothing was working, so my Neurologist was getting me set up for brain surgery. I had 8% blood flow through my spinal cord. My condition is classified as terminal, with a slow paralysis as the main cause. When I first went in I had lost feeling to my hands and feet, they were blue. The first day Dan told me I was a mess, then we got to work. By the time I left after my first visit I could feel blood flowing to all my extremities and for the first time in 8 years I didn’t have a migraine. I admit I went to my car and cried with relief. I have been seeing him for 2 years and I call him my miracle doctor. No surgeries, and working me off all my medicines. I feel better than I ever have. Now my husband and daughter both see him, and I have given his card to everyone I know. I also love my talks with Sami Jo when I first get there. He has improved my life amazingly!!!

So I have been seeing Dr. Dan now for a year (I was his 1^st reviewer) and have seen such a remarkable improvement on my back. I also convinced my husband to go see him, since hubby has had nagging neck pain forever, with very little motion of rotating his neck in either direction as well as extension and flexion of the neck. He also was experiencing bursitis/​tennis elbow in his left forearm. He was extremely skeptical of getting any relief as he been to so many Dr’s, Chiropracters, and Physical Therapists, Accupuncture, etc… Anyway after much conversation (from me) he decided to give Dr. Dan a go. I would say it took about 3−4mos of monthly visits before he felt a big difference and felt a major difference in about 9mos. Since then he is free of tennis elbow pain, and only has occasions when is neck bothers him, but not to the degree of pain prior to seeing Dr. Dan. He is so much happier about his neck, and doesn’t experience the daily ache in his neck he once had. I suggest anyone who may be contemplating surgery see Dr. Dan first. Or if you do have back, neck, hip etc. pain also see him first.
You won’t be sorry. He will be complelety up front and honest with you and won’t waste your time. And he’s super patient and very, very nice.
Highly Recommended!

Dr. Shadoan is a great osteopath. I see him regularly for treatment of a rheumatological condition that is debilitating. Without him my quality of life would be much lower. And, he’s a wonderful human being.

I have had mild sciatic pain in my leg for 10 years as a result of a few herniated discs in my back. In 2007, after doing a few weeks of heavy lifting (moving in and out of apartments, furnishing a new one), getting hit by a car (I thankfully escaped only with bruises!), and the stress of beginning a Ph.D. program, the pain in my leg became so severe that I could not walk more than 10 feet at a time.
I went to physical therapy for 6 months. Helped a little.
I did acupuncture twice. Maybe helped a little.
Went to 4 chiropractic sessions — no relief.
Had several massages at a highly reputable venue — felt great, but no therapeutic value.
Went on steroidal treatments — this helped the pain a lot, but it’s not a long-​term solution.
So basically I was looking at disc surgery over winter break. Then I remembered that my dad, who had the same problem several years ago, saw an osteopath in upstate New York — who completely relieved him of his pain. I called the doctor, whose name is Michael Burruano, and he told me that one of his students, Daniel Shadoan, was out in San Francisco.
I went to Dr. Shadoan’s office, and he told me that since I’d been having problems for 10 years, it would probably take close to 10 months of treatment for my pain to dissipate.
First visit — no relief.
Second visit — no relief.
Third visit — no relief.
In all honesty, I’m not really sure why I kept going to him — he seemed convinced I was getting better, as he felt more movement in my body.
Fourth visit — no relief.
Fifth visit — no relief.
But then between my 5^th and 6^th visit, I suddenly experienced about 65% improvement over about a 2 week period.
Sixth visit — about 75% healed.
Seventh visit — about 85% healed.
Eight visit — about 95% healed.
Ninth visit — about 99% healed.
A close friend of mine, who saw me over winter break, said, «Did you get taller!?» I laughed — but then I realized, actually, I was standing straight for the first time since I was 14 years old. So I guess I did grow.
—
Since this initial visit, I’ve reinjured myself several times — long car rides, too much tennis, really severe fits of coughing — and Dr. Shadoan has fixed me within 1 – 3 treatments EVERY single time.
I was HUGELY skeptical of alternative medicine before I went to him. There are probably good osteopaths and bad ones, just like there are good mainstream medical doctors and bad ones. Dr. Shadoan is a FANTASTIC one.
Also, he works in the office of Elliott Blackman — a world-​reknown osteopath who is no longer practing — and Dr. Blackman, I believe, entrusted his patients to Dr. Shadoan. Says a lot about how much he trusts him.