Charles King Physical Therapy, Inc

I am giving five stars because there are no more to give. This review is for Lauren VanCitters who is an exceptional and very knowledgeable physical therapist. I have been seeing her over the past year for different issues and I ALWAYS get amazing results with the exercises that she teaches me and the hands-​on work she performs. I could not recommend her enough. I am a marathon runner and it’s not easy to figure out what’s wrong at times but whenever I see Lauren she makes the perfect diagnosis which leads to improve the problem I am dealing with at the time. She always takes the time to discuss the issues to fully understand what’s going on and then she takes the time to explain what she thinks it’s happening. She always recommends a plan of action that is realistic for me to perform on my own and if I stick to it and the sessions where she works with her «magic» hands I can see immediate improvement. Not only her expertise but also her very gentle and empathetic approach make her an extraordinary physical therapist. Once you work with her you will never find a better PT.

I saw Lauren for the first time yesterday (also my first time with a PT and chronic pain ever in my life), and the piece of mind that I left with after 90 minutes with her was the best feeing I’ve had in two weeks of back pain. She was extremely informative, explained everything I was experiencing in great detail, gave me plenty of homework to do to work on correcting my back, and overall she left me feeling very hopeful that with her help, I can hopefully avoid traditional western medicine.
To top things off, Kevin Giraldo at the front desk was amazing at letting me know how to get things started, and answered all of my questions up front!
I’m definitely impressed with my first PT experience, and first experience with Charles King PT especally.

I have been so impressed with Lauren as my PT. I was suffering from debilitating pain and I not only saw results in a few sessions, but 3 months later I continue to improve in ways I never even imagined! Although my MD referred me for what was (supposed) musculoskeletal pain, she took a whole-​body approach and has worked on scar tissue from abdominal surgeries and problems related to Crohn’s Disease, as well as the pain I presented with through sessions and exercises at home. Her training is top-​notch. I not only appreciate her demeanor and skill, but her willingness to explain things in as much (or as little) detail as I’d like. I highly recommend Lauren!

Genius with a kind heart. I had been suffering from horrible leg and foot pain from CRPS or RSD (I hope everyone who suffers from this finds this review). All the literature and every MD give patients a bleak prognosis. Not Charlie. Why? Because he understands intricacies and mechanisms between joints, tissues, bones, muscles, and nerves. Orthotics? Check. Tape? Check. Manual hands on therapy? Check. Compression stocking? Check. He uses all and every modality.
All PTs know the same thing, right? Wrong. I had been to half a dozen PTs. All of them had me do calf raises in the corner or exercises on a Pilates mat or with bands. Stuff you could view on YouTube. You can imagine my results.
I did my assessment with Charlie using a scoring tool today. We were both so thrilled. I improved my pain and function by at least 40% (probably more but my math is poor) over just a few months. I am walking better, feeling better, and most importantly, I have confidence my leg and foot will return to baseline. Normal.
If you’re suffering from chronic pain and have been told you just have to live with it, you MUST see Charlie. The guy is smart, professional, pleasant, accessible, and experienced.

I’ve had several sessions with Charles King, and he is very professional, knowledgable and really dedicated to his practice. I am still in treatment, but the things that I love are: (i) flexible hours — I am able to see him early morning before I go to work; (ii) he takes a lot of time to talk to you about exercises you should do on your own, how to ensure you are comfortable sitting at work all day, how to position yourself to sleep comfortably, etc.; (iii) the office is really clean and warm, so it’s a relaxing environment to get PT; (iv) you can tell from day 1 that he is really invested in you getting better and resuming your normal activities; and (v) he runs the business, so you aren’t dealing with some random person at the front desk.

I have had to go through several therapists in the last several years, just looking for that perfect one. It was tough, because they usually do the very minimum: 10 – 15 min of actual work, and then you are on your own with the stuff. Lauren, on the other hand, really works hard on you, she is there with you the whole time, fully involved, professional, responsible and giving you personal attention 100% of the time. Finally, I found my perfect therapist!

Lauren VanCitters got me over the limp that made me an old guy. I was curling around the limp and becoming very limited. The wreck was in 1970, but the limp started 15 years later and slowly got so much worse that I really need help to get my life back.
Lauren started slowly with the soft tissue and slowly worked into getting the bones in my ankle to move again. I never needed to resort to the pain pills, and now my friends ask how I can move so easily again. She taught me about old pain and now I know how to get around it.
I must recommend most highly the services of Lauren VanCitters, the most recent arrival at Charles King PT. She may be new, but she is really talented and she pulled the fat out of the fire for me.

I’m a healed woman – it’s like I’ve shed ten years and the vague melancholy I’ve carried around from being in back pain for half a year. I’m so unbelievably grateful for Charlie’s help. We traversed a lot of territory in our couple of months together, and he handled it all with professionalism, wisdom, attention, and humor. I hope I don’t break again, but if I do, I’m relieved he’s a phone call away.

Charlie is undoubtedly among the best physical therapists around! He is extremely talented at his job. I’ve been seeing him for some shoulder pain and tingling, which is virtually all resolved at this point. And I’ve also seen him for my hips. I have bilateral hip dysplasia and had a PAO on my right hip 2 years ago. I had a fairly bad recovery from my surgery and Charlie has helped me come so far! He has a high focus on functionality which has helped me meet my own personal physical goals. I feel he has done a great job and getting to the underlying issues in my posture and movement patterns instead of just treating superficial aches and pains. He has helped my gain so much body awareness so that I am able to maintain the progress we’ve made! After working with him for the past 3 months, I know he has helped me immensely in feeling stronger and more in tune with my own body. Working with him has also in part allowed me to not get surgery on my left hip, which I was initially planning on doing. I am so grateful to him and I strongly recommend him to all — especially as a first line of treatment before jumping into surgery or other more aggressive treatment options. As others have said, Charlie is a magician!

Charlie is a master! I didn’t realize what I gem I had found when I first walked into his office!
My hip had become increasingly painful over the past 6 months so I made an appointment after finally accepting it wouldn’t get better on its own. Through a series of very specific strength and flexibility tests, and a LONG list of questions, Charlie was able to pinpoint the source of my pain and begin treating it. He evaluated my walk, my standing posture my hip rotation and helped me be more aware of how my «bad» habits were contributing to my pain. His explanations are technical but very accessible and he’s committed to making sure you understand clearly. The real magic comes when he uses Functional Manual therapy (it’s like a deep deep massage). It releases tension, eases pain, moves things around, honestly, I don’t know what else it does except that it works!
Four visits later I felt like I had a new hip!
Thank you Charlie! I hope I don’t have to come back to see you, but if I do, I hope you can fit me in!

Charles King is definitely one of the best physical therapist! i went to see him because of my shortness of breath and i also had terrible back pain because of my work. He asked me couple questions and than we began. the visit took about 1.5! Before the visit i couldn’t fall asleep because of the shortness of breath, but the night after the visit i fell asleep in seconds. Because Mr. King didn’t only provide therapy, he explained me how to sleep better, how many pillows i need. he also gave me couple exercises, so i can do them at home. i now feel a lot better! i will definitely recommend this service to everybody!

Charlie is one of the best I have ever seen and the best that I have found in SF. I compete as a semi-​pro athlete, but I’ve always done so against doctors order based on structural issues in my legs and back. As a result, I have 20 years of experience finding rare healing magicians. Within 15 minutes of our intake, as I landscaped my laundry list of ailments and approaches, Charlie had the insight to ask seemingly unusual questions no one else had and as a result — got to the root of an issue I never thought would be resolved. Do not wait. Addressing and resolving physical pain can open up your life in amazing ways and Charlie is your guy.

My PT recommended I see Charles King after unsuccessfully reducing my hip bursitis pain. He raved about Charles and how he treats from a more holistic (not the crunchy granola kind) approach vs localized treatment. He said he was/​is a ‘next level’ PT and that I needed that. He was right! I’ve been to 3 sessions with Charles and I am already feeling a difference — less pain, walking better and dancing with minimal pain. My hips have been a problem for 2 years and at it’s worst it would keep me up a night, every night.
I can see the pain-​free light at the end of the tunnel!
I kinda feel like I’ve been let in on an industry secret and if the secret gets out he’ll be booked up for months.
Charles is amazing! Don’t suffer in pain like I did, make an appointment. NOW!

I met Charlie when he was a teacher for a physical therapy course. He teachers other therapists, so I knew he really understaood how to help me. I have struggled with SI pain for years. He was great to work with, and point me in the direction of a great PT in my area too.

Charlie says he’s a physical therapist, but I’m pretty sure that’s just a disguise so that he can move freely in society. He’s actually a wizard.
I was hit by a car while biking to work in October 2014. When I went to my doctor about my injury, I was told to wait it out, since «it might get better on its own.» Well, it didn’t, so after two months of pain and reduced activity, I asked my friends for physical therapy recommendations.
One of my friends, herself a physical therapist, recommended Charlie. She said he saved her from another hip surgery. She raved about him. And she was right.
1) Charlie is incredibly kind, humble, and approachable, and he bends over backwards to make sure you are aware of and comfortable with what’s going on. In the simplest terms, he is a good person.
2) Charlie is amazing at what he does. There’s a reason he’s the physical therapists’ physical therapist.
In our very first appointment, he was able to quickly assess what was going on with my body, and do a few quick adjustments/​magic tricks that immediately brought me pain relief, increased flexibility, and increased strength. That’s obviously a case-​by-​case thing, but after months of being demoralized by my injuries and dismissed by my doctor, it felt like a miracle that Charlie listened to me, listened to my body, and got to the bottom of things on our first session.
I wasn’t completely fixed after one session, but a few weeks with Charlie got me to a point where I felt comfortable following through with my plans to fulfill my dream of cycling up to the summit of Haleakala.
I’ve been seeing him for a while now as we work to get my body back to pre-​collision levels (and expand to treat some preexisting issues), and I look forward to every session, both because of the quality of the treatment, and also because I just enjoy Charlie’s company.

I’ve been seeing Charles now for the past 3 months, and words can’t describe how positive of an impact he has made on my life. I’m a physical therapist and a competitive amateur cyclist. I was sidelined from the sport I loved most, to a plaguing knee injury. I tried several different treatment options, with some benefits, but an ongoing pain that kept me from riding the way I really wanted to. It was starting to affect me more than physically– mentally and emotionally. I had made up my mind that I was just going to have to grit my teeth and ride through the pain, as not racing my bike wasn’t going to be an option. Then I happened to meet Charles during a class, and I scheduled an appointment.
During that first 1 hour appointment, one of the manual therapy techniques he performed took me from 1 year of constant pain, to being virtually pain-​free– I knew this was the guy that was gonna get me back on the bike. 3 months later, I’m back training hard, competing, and having success: all thanks to Charles. He’s helped me deal with the physical and psychological components of this injury, and I can’t thank him enough.
He’s been a great professional resource, as I’ve referred clients to him for treatment. For those that may not know about the letters behind his name: he has completed residencies and fellowships in manual therapy, making him an advanced practitioner in the field of physical therapy.
If you’ve been dealing with a nagging injury, and are just tired of being in pain: do yourself a favor, and schedule an appointment with Charles.

Charles King is one of the best therapists I have worked with anywhere. He understands anatomy and the neuro-​muscular connection better than anyone and uses his knowledge to produce improvements very quickly. Functional Manual Therapy, the kind that Charlie practices, is not plain vanilla physical therapy. You have to experience it to understand the difference. And yes !, you will notice a difference in one session. Charlie is more expensive than most physical therapists but in this case it is worth every cent. The only trouble is once you work with Charlie it would be hard to go to any other therapist !