Rick Mehaffy, DC

Rick is one of those people I owe immensely for granting me the opportunity to live a lifestyle I want to. I am a highly active individual, doing a host of outdoor activities like mountaineering, rock-​climbing, skiing, long distance road-​biking, etc. Doing these activities comes at the risk of stressing the body in ways beyond normal usage. But having Rick by my side, allows me to recover from many of the stresses and injuries that have accompanied them. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the human anatomy, and he is more than happy to explain in detail what is likely going on in the body.
I happened to drop at his clinic in 2013 on the recommendation from a friend, after I received a severe whiplash in a car accident. And since then, I keep going to him anytime I need any help with my muscles, tendons etc. And it is worthwhile to mention here that in bay-​area where often health is treated as a commodity for sale and purchase, Rick has a value system that is highly inspiring. He is the first to admit the limitations of his own diagnosis, and would recommend other specialists if needed. His jovial nature, his passion and sincerity in his role as someone who heals others’ pain, his love for outdoors, all together has made me a fan of him.

I am so thankful for Dr Mehaffy, he is truly an expert. I recently saw him for tendinitis in my thumb from breastfeeding my son. I had the same thing with my first son, and I went to physical therapy for 2 months, wore a brace, and eventually got a cortisone shot because nothing was working. This time, I went to see Dr Mehaffy. Within just two sessions and doing the stretches he prescribed, I am already feeling great. I have no issues picking up my son.
Him and the whole staff are just great, kind, caring people that really love what they do. I had told JoAnn, the office manager that I was coordinating with my mom to watch my son while I was at the appointment. She told me to bring him in and she could watch him if he made any kind of fuss. She was great with him, and it was so nice not to have to coordinate care for him.

Cannot say enough good things about Dr Mehaffy. After suffering last few years from sciatica pain, I went to see him recently. Couple of visits and my condition has improved.dramatically. Dr Mehaffy patiently works with you to get to the root of the problem and prescribes exercises to help you manage the pain in the long term. Highly recommend him.

Dr. Mehaffy is an excellent resource if you have a repetitive stress injury. If you’ve noticed that other doctors are not helping you get better, it’s because most Western doctors (and many others as well) don’t really understand the causes of RSI. RSI is a result of systemic dysfunction in multiple soft tissues of the hands, arms, neck and back. There’s no one source of the problem, which is why splints, ibuprofen, etc. don’t do anything.
Dr. Mehaffy understands the physiology of RSI and will spend time with you to diagnose exactly where your pain is coming from. He’ll then prescribe stretches and strengthening exercises. He helped me greatly when I developed a really bad case of RSI while working for Oracle in 2002.
I’ve since recommended multiple people to him.

Dr Mehaffy gets a 5 out of 5 because of (1) his expertise, (2) his integrity, (3) the results I’ve gotten, (4) value for money, (5) how respectfully he treats patients, and (6) the overall positive attitude and atmosphere of the entire office.
RESULTS
Dr Mehaffy helped me overcome a bad case of repetitive strain injury (RSI) from too much computer work. My arms and wrists hurt so much I almost couldn’t use them, and I’d been dealing with it for years. He taught me simple stretches and did a lot of hands-​on massage work to speed my muscles’ recovery. Over time, I recovered fully and I have not suffered from repetitive strain injury since then!
TREATS PATIENTS WELL
Dr Mehaffy spent a good bit of time to explain to me what was going on to cause my pain, answered my questions, and was really patient and thorough. I truly felt valued and cared for as a person with a problem needing help, and he gave his time and attention to show it.
EXPERTISE
He is really the best I know of at what he does. I’ve referred other friends with RSI and they are really happy with the results as well. He is extremely knowledgeable, and for that reason I’ve referred others to him for non-​RSI issues.
For example my mom was having back pain and after just a visit or two she was fine. I went to him again with what I thought was a pulled hamstring. He got in there and showed me how it was my glute muscles (something my other doctors didn’t find), and as I’ve followed his advice I’m doing better already — for the first time in months.
INTEGRITY and VALUE FOR MY MONEY
He knows his limits, so he’s not going to try to treat something that should be seen by another specialist, so I really value his integrity. He teaches me stretches I can do at home so I can really contribute to (and maintain) my own recovery — He’s not about making people dependent on him. When I did go see him, he didn’t waste time with stuff I could do myself — he got in there and did deep-​tissue work so my recovery would go faster. He’d make adjustments to my at-​home therapy so I could be more effective with what I do.
OVERALL POSITIVE EXPERIENCE
Both Dr Mehaffy and the wonderful office manager Joann make you feel welcome, are really genuine people, and take your questions and issues seriously and help resolve them.
I highly recommend Peninsula RSI and Dr Mehaffy, they are really top-​notch!

As much as I hate to give a great review, since it’s sometimes hard to get appointments unless you book a few days to week in advance — but I love Dr. Mehaffy, and his staff. I always leave feeling better — not just immediately, but for days — and he teaches you how to stretch & do exercises on your own.
He has great bedside manners too — and always enjoy conversations with him.

I have had back and neck pain for many years now. After trying Physiotherapy unsuccessfully one of my friends recommended to Dr.Rick. I have had remarkable improvement since i started working with him. His approach is very practical, teaches Streches that is associated with the Pain Area. I would highly recommend anybody with Chronic back pain to consult Dr.Rick.

Due to the nature of my job (software), I developed a back ache that kept me awake at nights. After reading recommendations on an internal mailing list, I went to Dr Mehaffy.
Dr Mehaffy clearly explained the problems I was having and how I could overcome them. He suggested a few exercises to lengthen my muscles which had shortened over several years (due to the way I sit with my shoulders slightly lifted). After a few months of weekly visits and regular follow up exercise, I feel much better and sleep really well. My back pain has significantly reduced and they return only when I stop doing the exercises he has prescribed!