Can a chiropractor help with my back pain?

Almost always, yes. In Dr. Foudy’s words, anybody who has low back pain, he is going to help them, unless it is a massive tumor or a fracture, which belong in the ER. Everyone else leaves the first visit with a clear answer about whether care can help.

What happens at the first visit?

The first visit is a show-and-tell consultation. Dr. Foudy measures before he touches: dual postural scales, range of motion with a protractor, reflex and neurological testing, then a surface EMG (like an EKG of your nervous system) and digital X-rays. The EMG helps us see the software, the X-rays help us see the hardware, and he shows you what he found before you decide anything together.

How long does chiropractic care take?

Adjustment visits run about 30 to 45 minutes. Most care plans start at two to three visits a week, then taper as the spine learns to hold its progress. Spinal decompression plans are personalized in person after your exam, never quoted from a website. Your exact plan comes from your own exam and X-rays, never from a template.

How much does a visit cost?

An adjustment visit is $90 with every modality included. Massage therapy and the stretch lab are $90 an hour or $55 for the half hour. Most patients pay cash. Carmen can verify your insurance when you call (949) 365-0403.

Where is Foudy Chiropractic?

Foudy Chiropractic is at 28892 Marguerite Pkwy #150, Mission Viejo, CA 92692, serving Mission Viejo and the neighboring communities of Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Ladera Ranch. Thursday is afternoons only, 3:00 to 6:00 pm.

Foudy Chiropractic · Mission Viejo, California

You're hurting. I can almost always help.

Come in for one unhurried visit. I will measure exactly what is going on, show you what I find on your own scans and X-rays, and tell you honestly whether I can fix it. After 37 years and more than 10,000 patients, including the U.S. Women's Olympic and World Cup Soccer teams, I usually can.

Book your show-and-tell consultation Call (949) 365-0403

Open mornings most days. Thursday is afternoons only, 3:00 to 6:00 pm.

Dr. Michael Foudy standing in his white coat at Foudy Chiropractic in Mission Viejo

In your own words

Pick the symptom that sounds like you.

I never start with a diagnosis. I start with what you actually say, in your own words. I have heard every one of these thousands of times. The longer the real cause goes unfound, the more your body learns to work around it, and the harder it digs in. The good news is simple: every one of these has a cause I can find, and most of them I can fix.

I wake up so stiff and sore it takes me half an hour to get moving.

Morning stiffness is one of the most common things he hears. It usually traces back to joints sitting out of alignment, and it responds well to care.

I get this numbness feeling going down my leg.

That is often sciatica, a pinched nerve in the lower back. The first-visit exam shows exactly which level is involved.

I'm getting these headaches that are kind of all over my head.

Many headaches start at the top of the neck, at the atlas and axis. A specific open-mouth X-ray view lets him see those two bones clearly.

Every time I turn my neck a certain way, I get this shooting pain into my shoulder blades.

A classic sign of a neck that needs attention, often from years of forward head carriage in front of a computer.

I've been icing, I've been heating, I've been taking Advil. Nothing's working.

When home care stalls, it usually means the cause has not been found yet. Finding it is what the first visit is for.

Pain going down into my butt, down my leg. It's just driving me nuts.

He hears this almost every day. It usually means a nerve in the lower back is getting pinched, and he can almost always help.

Spinal decompression with added oscillation

The AccuSpina, for when the disc is the problem.

Patient receiving AccuSpina spinal decompression therapy in Mission Viejo — Spinal decompression with added oscillation on the AccuSpina table.

Picture a disc like a jelly donut. When the jelly pushes out and presses on a nerve, that is a herniation or a bulge, and it is what sends pain down your leg. Decompression gently separates the bones so the disc has room to draw back in.

I flew to Florida, put the two top tables side by side, and chose the AccuSpina for the research behind it and for one patented detail. At maximum load, the table oscillates, so the disc is worked while it is decompressed. My old budget table earned a nickname I still use, the pickup truck Toyota. I do not buy pickup trucks anymore.

The patients I help most with this are disc herniations, bulges, sciatica, and chronic low back pain with degeneration. After your plan comes a progress exam, then a retainer schedule, the way braces hand off to a retainer. Around visit 15, Melanie's corrective exercise work begins, so what we corrected stays corrected.

We bought the most expensive machine because it gets the best results.Dr. Michael Foudy, D.C.

See how AccuSpina decompression works

The Gold Thread

One career. One standard of care.

Some clinics hang stock photos. This one has a national team on its resume. The thread below runs from a 1989 license at LACC to the table you will lie on this week.

“I've treated over 10,000 patients. I think I know what I'm doing.”

Dr. Michael Foudy, D.C.

The career, in five waypoints

1989
Licensed at LACC
Doctor of Chiropractic, Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. The Mission Viejo practice opens the same year.
B.S., Human Biology
1996
Atlanta Olympics
Official chiropractor to the U.S. Women's Olympic Soccer Team. The team brings home gold.
The gold medal run
1999
World Cup year
The U.S. women take the World Cup, and Dr. Foudy is named Chiropractor of the Year.
Chiropractic Leadership Alliance
2004
The final tournament
Eight years of national team duty close with one last Olympic tournament.
U.S. Women's National Team, 1996 to 2004
Today
Mission Viejo
37 years in practice. Over 10,000 patients. The same table-side standard, on Marguerite Parkway.
10,000+ patients and counting

Book your show-and-tell consultation(949) 365-0403

Your first visit, the show and tell

First question: can he help you? Almost always, yes.

Every patient asks me the same four questions, in the same order. Can you help me? What is actually going on? How long will it take? How much will it cost? I answer all four in one unhurried visit, and you watch it happen. I measure before I ever touch you, then I show you exactly what I found. The surface EMG reads the software. The X-rays show the hardware. And if what I find is not mine to fix, I will tell you straight and send you to the right person. I would rather point you down the street than sell you care you do not need.

Dr. Foudy reviewing a computerized nervous system scan with a patient, like an EKG of the nervous system

Step one

Assess the software

Posture and weight bearing on dual scales, range of motion with a protractor, reflexes, then a surface EMG. “We're going to do an EKG of your nervous system.” It reads the electrical signal level by level.

Dr. Foudy explaining X-ray findings to a patient during a report of findings consultation

Step two

Look at the hardware

Digital X-rays finish the picture: AP, lateral, and an AP open-mouth view for headache cases. He shows you your own images and explains exactly what he sees, in plain language.

Dr. Foudy adjusting a patient's lower back at Foudy Chiropractic

Step three

Pop the breaker back in

“Your spine is like your circuit breakers.” An adjustment pops the one that is out back into alignment so the signal flows again. Six techniques, matched to your body, not the other way around.

We're not measuring your pain. We're measuring how the nervous system is functioning.Dr. Michael Foudy, D.C.

How long, and how much?

Adjustment visits run about 30 to 45 minutes at $90, with every modality included. Most care plans start at two to three visits a week, then taper as your spine learns to hold the progress. Spinal decompression plans are personal, so I discuss them with you in person after your exam, never quoted from a website. Most patients pay cash, and Carmen can verify your insurance when you call.

Book your show-and-tell consultation or call (949) 365-0403 and ask for Carmen

The house team

Small team. Long tenures. The same faces every visit.

Most of this team has been together for over a decade. Carmen has managed the front office for more than fifteen years, and Melanie builds the rehab side of your care. The room never feels crowded, and your visit never feels timed.

The Foudy Chiropractic team at the Mission Viejo office — The team at 28892 Marguerite Pkwy #150, Mission Viejo.

Melanie L. Foudy

M.S., IMS, CES, PES · Corrective Exercise Specialist

Melanie holds two master’s degrees and more than thirty years of experience. As an Integrative Corrective Exercise Specialist, she evaluates your posture, movement, and muscle balance, then builds the stretching and corrective-exercise program that makes your adjustments hold. She also trains physical therapists in her methods.

Carmen Garcia

Office Manager

Carmen has run the practice for more than fifteen years. She manages scheduling, insurance verification, and billing, and she is your point of contact for anything about your account or benefits. Call the office, and you are most likely speaking with Carmen.

Mallory McInroe

Patient Coordinator

Mallory is usually the first face you see at Foudy Chiropractic. She coordinates your appointments and sets up your therapies before each visit, so your time in the office runs smoothly from check-in to treatment.

Stacy Smith

Licensed Massage Therapist

Stacy is a licensed massage therapist with twelve years of clinical experience. She specializes in Active Isolated Stretching, sports, prenatal, and relaxation massage, working alongside your care plan to release the soft tissue around each adjustment.

Patient stories

What patients say, in their own words.

Real people who walked in hurting and unsure it would work, and found out it did.

“That first adjustment was amazing! That night I had the best night's sleep in years.”

A happy patient with Dr. Foudy at the Mission Viejo office

Melissa N

Come in. We'll answer all four questions.

Hours

Monday7:30 to 11:30 am, 3:00 to 6:00 pm
Tuesday8:30 to 11:30 am
Wednesday7:30 to 11:30 am, 3:00 to 6:00 pm
Thursday *3:00 to 6:00 pm
Friday7:30 to 11:30 am
Saturday + SundayClosed

* Thursday is afternoons only. Plan around it, or let Mallory find you a morning.

How much does it cost?

Adjustment visit, every modality included$90

Massage therapy, one hour$90

Stretch lab with Melanie, one hour$90

Half-hour massage or stretch$55

Spinal decompression plans are personal, so they are discussed in person after your exam, never quoted from a website. Most patients pay cash. Carmen can verify insurance when you call.

Where to find us

28892 Marguerite Pkwy #150
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 365-0403
info@foudy-chiropractic.com

Get directions

Exterior of the Foudy Chiropractic office on Marguerite Parkway in Mission Viejo

“Hey, you got to brush your teeth, you got to eat good food, you got to exercise. It's called lifestyle.”