BAK Menlo Park

Bryan is excellent — probably the best therapist I have ever had. Very thorough and thoughtful in analysis and treatment. He listens intently and always addresses my questions and concerns. My only issue is with the business model generally at BAK and that the appointments tend to be pretty short.

I had surgery for a meniscus tear in my knee due to a sports injury. As a guy, I was naturally skeptical of PT but begrudgingly went — and sure glad i did. I was assigned to Brian G, who is simply outstanding. He is exceptionally well-​versed in the art and science of rehabilitation and over the past 8 weeks has helped me improve from a 3-​out-​of-​10 functionality to an 8-​out-​of-​10 functionality in my knee. There is no way I could have improved this much this fast without his help.
As another reviewer said below, he listens well, is very friendly but would not hesitate to correct me if I was doing an exercise incorrectly — which is what I’m paying for.
I had no issues with insurance, and would take the reviewers who gave this place 1-​star with a grain of salt. We’ve all had insurance nightmares, and it usually isn’t the facility that is screwing up, but the bureaucracy at the large insurance firm. Despite this place being busy, the front desk is very friendly, organized and helpful.
From my experience over 3 months, BAK (Menlo Park) deserves a solid 5-​star rating.

I went to BAK for a problem with my shoulder — I had damaged the bursa sac and after a shot of cortisone the doctor recommended a course of physical therapy.
I worked with Bryan and was very pleased. He was professional, thorough and conscientious. He was clearly very experienced and did a good job of listening to me and assessing my shoulder. The exercises he had me do were spot on and helped a lot. He was also very good at checking in with me during each session to make sure I was doing the exercises properly, then adjusting my technique as needed.
At the end of my treatment my shoulder is much better. I recommend Bryan very enthusiastically.

BAK practices unethical business policies. If they knowingly overcharge a client, they refuse to process a refund without months of fighting & phone calls. I was overcharged more than $ 200 of co-​pays in June 2014 and it is mid-​October and still no refund. I’ve filed a complaint with a very large Insurance company suggesting they be removed as a provider. Next stops are local newspaper ‘Letters to Editors’ and internal company employee website.

I went for OT on my hand for a work related injury, it was hard to get an appointment. I showed up 30mins early as requested to do paperwork and then had to sit and wait for over 20 mins past my appointment time. I was finally seen by a temp PT who was very disorganized and full of excuses. At the end of my appointment I made follow up appointments 2 out of 4 of my follow up appointments were at very inconvenient times, but there were no other options. An hr later they called me back to change 3 out of the 4 appointments to even more inconvenient times. I ended up having to just cancel one of them. They have terrible customer service, the thought if having to go back there is giving me terrible anxiety. Hopefully my employer can come up with a different solution so I don’t have to go back.

I came to BAK back in October of last year. I fell on the job and tore a ligament in my left shoulder. I had been through the ringer with doctors and another PT clinic where the PTherapist actually tore it more. OWE! After SEVERAL months dealing with Workmans Comp — I was able to come to BAK since it was close to work and they could accomidate my work schedule (where as none of the others could).
I was put with Melissa. She was new at the time but man was she amazing. She was super careful (realizing i had some trauma from the other incident) and gentle. She customized my regimne to work with what I could handle and what I was comfortable handeling. She did try and push me when she felt it necessary, but also stayed within a comfort zone to protect my injury from further damage. With only 12 sessions with her I went from a 20% range of motion to a 90%! I couldn’t believe it.
The rest of the staff was awesome too! The front desk and Ricardo are all very accomidating and go the extra step to help you deal with insurance and so on. Def recommend BAK. two thumbs up guys! And thanks!

I have had the best experience with BAK! I began treatment in November 2013 for some foot problems that required surgery. The purpose of this treatment was to prevent some potential issues post surgery. Mychal was wonderful but unfortunately due to a family job relocation she is no longer there.
I have been seeing Melissa (the new clinic director) since the end of January 2014 — post surgery. She has been a true beacon of light! She has been very supportive and encouraging through my recovery and rehab. I still have a way to go but am so delighted with her and her colleagues that I sent my daughter there for some back issues.
My daughter has been seeing Jennifer and is delighted with her! The pain in the back has subsided and for the first time in a couple of years feels she is learning what to do to take care of herself.

Starting on 9÷9÷2013 I came down with a bad case of Traumatic Bursitis in my left shoulder. It was incredibly painful – especially since as luck would have it I was coming back from a trip from Germany on a 14 hour flight.
After seeing Dr Khan in PAMF (another great institution) and getting the appropriate medication to calm the inflammation down and waiting one week, I was referred to Bruce at BAK by a colleague.
You can imagine I was in a complete state of panic. I could not move my left shoulder more than a few inches without severe pain and simple things like putting my clothes on would take a long time (with lots of pain). Furthermore, after some research on the internet, I found out that I had the beginnings of the «frozen shoulder» and that it could take up to 3 years to recover!!!
From the first visit, Bruce was a calming therapist explaining to me what was going on and how working together we could fix it and avoid the nightmare scenarios I had read about on the internet.
I did 3 – 4 sessions a week with him and did the exercises he specified religiously every day. I continued to get better and better. Within two months I had my full motion back. He correctly diagnosed that part of my problem really was my neck and worked on both my left shoulder and my whole neck movement.
When after 24 sessions, I wasn’t completely healed and I was at the limit set by my insurance, he took the time to write to both my doctor and to the insurance and plead the case that I needed more work. The insurance company fortunately authorized eight more sessions.
Bruce is a caring practitioner. He goes beyond what his job requires and makes sure you are well. I cannot think of a better person I could’ve been treated by and thank god for him I am entirely back to normal a mere four months later.
I cannot vouch for the others in BAK, but Bruce is fantastic. Also, my insurance claims never had any issues. Everything was paid as long as I paid my $ 7.50 co-​pay per visit.
I’d go to Bruce in a heartbeat again if I ever develop another neck/​shoulder problem (but I hope not).

Just a follow up and affirmation — my friend has been 3 more times and actually looks forward to the work out. Bruce’s authority and encouragement have been key in changing her attitude towards improving and just getting more of a life.
I’m attaching a photo of the current facility — across from Lulu’s restaurant and Dutch Goose (both great too!)

I went to BAK not expecting a lot because they were the only ones my insurance company covered and I was in a lot of pain. My therapist Mychal was fantastic, she quickly assessed my situation and got my pain down to a very manageable level right away. The exercises she gave were easy to follow and to do at home. I felt like Mychal really cared about me and observed similar relationships with the other PTs and their patients. The associates were all quite nice and helpful too. If I needed to change an appointment or get in quickly the front desk always helped me out. Mychal made herself available by email too which I appreciated after hours if I had any discomfort or could not remember an exercise correctly. I am very thankful to BAK for getting me on my feet again and giving me the tools to help use and exercise my body better going forward.

I should have read the warnings here before going yesterday. My doctor did not recommend BAK, although it is nearby, but my insurance covered it and the nurse said it was okay to go there.
I also got an intern earning hours to treat me, but did not realize it until she hurt my leg during a stretch. I started to ask questions and it turned it that she was NOT the person that they said that they were assigning me to – no one ever introduced themselves – but the name that I was given at the front desk was Jennifer Naughton – and this woman was NOT Jennifer Naughton. When they actually called in Jennifer Naughton, who was supposed to be supervising the intern, she did not know who I was or why I was there and she theorized that my scoliosis was causing me leg pain and that the intern had done nothing wrong. Dr. Keane, a highly respected orthopedic doctor at SOAR Medicine specifically said that this was not a scoliosis issue (I had been in an auto accident and hurt my back), but this physical therapist who did not know my case, knew better.
This is a disgrace and if someone has more energy than I do right now – an issue for health consumer investigation.

My experience here has been (and is) great. Bruce is very knowledgable, on time, and spends a good amount of time with me. I came in for TMJ but also have a Frozen Shoulder. He pinpointed my neck as a problem area (also what my chiropractor said but I hadn’t told Bruce that) and has been treating my neck, my arm and my TMJ. Pretty good guy, seems to really care, in my opinion.

I have written maybe one critical review of anything and this is unfortunately the second one. I was assigned a new PT who was less than a year out of school. She was more interested in writing things down on a computer than talking to me. Furthermore, on the first visit, she didn’t even examine or touch the area that needed PT. The reason I came here is that the place I had gone to in the past doesn’t take Blue Shield insurance anymore. After several visits, I returned to my doctor who was disappointed in the exercises and quality of letter summarizing my condition. It was more of a check list than an actual patient review. We both decided it was not in my best interest to return. on a posiitive note, the people behind the front desk are friendly and efficient.

Be careful here… i was a client/​patient using Blue Cross insurance, and for 4 weeks (at which time i stopped going) I never saw a real physical therapist, but was instead was assigned to an unpaid intern earning her hours… i only met Kathie, my physical therapist once for about 5 minutes on my initial visit.
It’s a total insurance racket they’ve got going… have a free intern take care of patients and bill the insurance company. I understand that insurance reimbursements are paltry and to stay in business they may need to offload some time with an intern… and the intern working on me was a nice person who appeared competent… no problems with her… but to not even have a real therapist involved at all is totally unacceptable, offensive and abusive to the system… and shows that they don’t really care about all their clients’ well being and recovery, but more so about making a buck.
Too many other good PT’s in the area to waste time here.

Kathy is a very experienced, knowledgable and thorough PT. She provides a lot of info on the anatomy and helps you understand how they are inter-​related. She doesn’t just treat the symptom but also the relating muscles to get to the source of the problem. she will also show you ways to prevent future injuries from overuse or bad habits. The office staff are all very professional and courteous. Only wish they work on Saturdays.