Alice K Charap, DC
Categories: Massage, Acupuncture, Chiropractors [Edit]
Neighborhood: Castro254 Church St
(between 15th St & Market St)
San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 863-4424
- Hours:
Tue-Wed 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Tue-Wed 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Fri 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sat 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Accepts Insurance: Yes
- By Appointment Only: Yes
12 reviews
Neighborhood: Glen Park
"This place is AMAZING!!!! Marnie is a extremely professional as well as her staff!!!! I have to add to my first review -- I had my first…" read more »
12 Reviews for Alice K Charap, DC
Dr. Charap has been my Chiropractor for over 4 years. I found her on my insurance website when I had a pinched nerve. Her front desk staff is professional and really nice and Dr. Charap is absolutely wonderful. The first visit, she sits down and talks with you extensively to get a good sense of your body and issues. When she works on you, she is thorough, gentle and very effective. She has a broad set of talents and interests so often has pertinent and informed things to say about what's going on with other issues (even if isn't something she can fix by adjusting). She has been doing this for 25 years and it really shows. She loves what she does and really cares about her patients. I highly recommend her!
Alice's gentle, yet effective chiropractic techniques are a welcome departure from more violent, abrasive styles I have experienced in the past.
I have known and used Dr. Charap for 8 years, whenever I feel the need. Admittedly, I do not have severe, chronic issues which is why I find Alice's laid back demeanor even more refreshing. She allows ME to decide when I need to come back for more treatments. Even when I began seeing her years ago, she did not try and sign me up for a lifetimes subscription to chiropractic.
Alice freely refers to acupuncturists, physcial therapists, and other doctors if she feels that chiropractic is not enough for you. In other words, she is unique in the world of chiropractors who very often feel depserate and very much coming from a place of lack.
Another strong point of Alice's is her bed-side manner. As mentioned above, she gets great results with a relatively gentle adjustment technique and she takes time to listen to you. What a gift to leave a Dr's office feeling heard AND healed.
I strongly recommend Dr. Alice Charap to anyone seeking chiropractic services in or around central San Francisco.
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I've been to a handful of chiropractors, some of whom were very enthusiastic (read: rough) with my spine and some of whom tried to put me on intensive, expensive treatment plans and didn't seem to understand the phrase "I don't have that kind of money." Dr. Charap is the only chiropractor (outside of my immediate family) that I've allowed to adjust my back more than once.
As others have said, she is gentle, she knows what she's doing, and she's effective. I have minor but recurring spinal wonkiness, and she's been good at putting my vertebrae back where they belong and suggesting exercises to keep them that way.
I also love that her primary adjustment room is a converted living room in one of the houses on Church St., and that there's often music playing.
Another bonus is that usually I can get an appointment within a day or two of requesting it, if not the same day.
She's also right next to the Market/Church intersection, making her convenient to just about anybody taking Muni.
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I've been working at Dr. Charap's office for about 8 months now (full disclosure) and I'd like to throw in my five cents as a dedicated yelper.
First of all, as the front desk person, I'm not bizzare or creepy or anything like that (although I am pretty cute! ;) be sure to say hi!). Our staff has rolled over completely since early 2007. Being a dedicated sleeper myself, I never call patients at ungodly hours -- aka, never before 11am.
Dr. Charap accepts most insurance companies: American Specialty Health/Kaiser, Blue Cross/Shield, Aetna, Cigna, United, PacifiCare, and ACN. There's even a special 25% discount to Kaiser patients who have no chiropractic coverage. Dr. Charap also works with a lot of motor vehicle accident and workers compensation cases.
Dr. Charap is pretty unique in that she accepts a lot of last minute emergencies (she can often see you the day that you call in). She also works on Saturdays, which is incredibly rare in the chiropractic field.
With over 25 years of experience, Alice is a master in her craft. Over the years, she has perfected an incredibe inventory of techniques: diversified, neurovasomotor reflex, sacro-occipital, palmer specific, flexion-extension traction, gonstead, thompson, and logan basic.... etc, etc, the list goes on almost infinitely.
She's also incredibly gentle, which means you don't have to suffer more than you have to. When I got in a bicycle accident and she adjusted me, I didn't feel any pain whatsoever. Who would have thought something as intense-souding as back cracking could actually feel good! Her heat packs are seriously heaven sent.
The associated masseuses are also incredibly fun and with hands of gold. Hassan is really skilled at deep-tissue massage (meaning he won't hold back on ya!). There's also a couple of popular acupuncturists (Don in particular is usually booked at least a week in advance, ).
All in all, it's a pretty diverse office, and (being in the Castro) well loved by both the LGBT community and everyone else with horrific back pain.
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Dr. Charap was great. I really hate that back cracking noise, but she sort of surprises you with the big ones anyway.
I was sort of sad about the speediness of everything - but I usually am at a chiropractors, always, snap, snap, you're done, no romance and relaxation time like getting massages... but thats not her fault. And the heat packs are amazing.
Had a tweaked back and a great experience with Dr. Charap. No nonsense, no weird x-rays or high pressure. She fixed my back and I walked away a very happy camper! Will definitely go back and refer people to her.
My god, this woman is like the back whisperer. I've been having chronic neck pain and some unpleasant back and shoulder pain (a result of bad posture and terrible workplace ergonomics), but within 45 minutes, Dr. Charap was able to help me identify many of the sources of my pain and help me think of a number of different ways to take care of myself (from changes to my work space to stretches to what kind of pillows I could use). She also made several adjustments in my neck and back and I left her office feeling truly, truly refreshed. I left her office feeling all tingly and stuff.
Oh, Dr. Charap is also the only person that has ever cracked anything on my body without me freaking out and/or screaming. This is mainly because she's very gentle and knows exactly where to press to get results-- so unlike some bad masseuses I've seen, she's not just jerking your limbs around like a thanksgiving turkey.
The service at the front desk of Dr. Charap's office is very bizarre. I'm taking a point off for that.
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I was worried that I would never find a chiropractor that I liked as much as my student-practitioner at Life Chiropractic College West, but Dr. Charap proved me wrong.
She was very nice, straightforward and made me feel comfortable and really listened to my complaints and how I felt about what goes on with my body. I can tell that I will like my visits to her adorable office, and her receptionist is very personable and pretty funny too!
The office is in a victorian and I felt like I was still at my apartment in there, which made it easy to relax.
I definitely recommend her, esp. if you have Blue Cross, as she is in the coverage network.
The office also has acupuncture and massage!
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I like Dr. Charap because she has an established practice in neighborhood of Market and Church Street. Since I am new to this area, I look for for someone with experience. I also like that you can schedule a therapeutic massage through her office as well. Also, I find her staff to always be courteous and professional. That means a lot to people like me. - NEW!
Alice is a kind and very skilled provider. Her office has a nice kinda non-profitty feel, that is down to earth, inviting and warm, and her desk staff is really helpful. Alice takes her time with her adjustments and does not do the hard sell of some chiropractors. She also has a knack for getting good massage therapists in her office and I highly recommend them.
Particularly if this is your first experience with chiropractic and you are looking for someone who knows what they are doing, is not condescending at all and who will do their best to educate you on what you are doing right and wrong for your condition, Alice is great. I have sent a lot of people to her over the years, and she takes mediCal and lots of other insurance, which is a huge plus.
you know when you wake up on a beautiful saturday morning, with sunlight beaming through your blinds, and you think, wow, this is going to be a great day? But then, there's the Alice Charap office, who called me at 9 in morning only to tell me my massage has been canceled, 3 hours from the call, because they were "confused" about the appointment that i made more than a week ago. So I have to start from zero again in making appointments and waiting for someone to not cancel on me. To top it off, they charged me 160 for a previous initial office visit, which i just accidently found out from my insurance company, should have been covered in my copay. I walked out of there, with my back still hurting like a baby seal, and 220 less in my pocket. insurance is great.
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alice was the first chiropractor i've ever visited. and i feel better already!! she is very professional, matter-of-fact and kind. i felt very comforabtle in her cute victorian office - felt sorta like an old-fashioned doctor.
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