Posture Clinic of Sarasota

About Us

NO Planned, Canned, High Volume Approaches

You won't feel like you're on an assembly line here. You and your body are unique. No one has your exact body or been through the same physical and mental stresses that you've been through in your lifetime.

So each of you need to be individually evaluated and cared for in a very personalized way.

Most of my patients have been treating with me on and off for many many years. In fact, I have many 3 generation families of patients. So if want a chiropractor who gets to know YOUR individual body and treats it the way it responds best to natural care then you'll love the care that I offer.

I Don't Make Mountains Out of Mole Hills

Sometimes, "Less is More" If you just strained your muscles or stretched a ligament you should be told that, taught some self rehab therapy that you can do at home and counseled about how to avoid the injury next time by perhaps changing the way you did what you did (biomechanics modification). Maybe you should be referred to a massage therapist or get some help choosing a natural herb or supplement to reduce the inflammation or correct a nutritional deficiency (if that's what caused the injury to occur). Or maybe you need only to be offered physiotherapy treatment in our office, like ultrasound or laser to speed up your healing or reach deeper into tissues than home remedies go. And maybe given exercises that you can do at home or with a personal trainer that will stabilize and strengthen the injured area, and then be discharged from active care.

Knowledge and Experience

On the other hand, if your problem area is, in reality due to a deeper problem, then you want a chiropractic physician who has the knowledge and experience to see the difference. If you have a condition for which my care is your best option, I'll explain why I think so. But if your case would best be resolved by a different specialist, then my 35 years of interaction within the local medical community will quickly get you to the more appropriate source of care. The truth is, I get almost as much satisfaction from appropriately referring patients to someone else who efficiently gets them better as I would if I did the treatment myself.

Our Services

Chiropractic Care

Most people know that chiropractors adjust spines to correct misaligned bones. They are correct, but often don't know that only 15% of the joint problems people seek relief for are actually mis-aligned. The other 85% of the joint pathologies that chiropractic physicians treat are for joint mobility problems. (Either stuck, too tight or too loose.) Each adjustment that I deliver is based on a fresh assessment of each joint being evaluated for not only misalignment but also proper inter-segmental mobility. As bodies recover, these segments and their improper mobilities frequently change and so must the adjustment. You'll rarely get the exact same adjustment because I alter each treatment to fit each new visit.

Laser Therapy

Of all the varieties of physiotherapy available today I believe that properly delivered deep tissue laser therapy is the most effective. Not for all conditions, but I see it do more for people (and animals) than any other physiotherapy in more than 35 years of consideration. I have personally seen hundreds and hundreds of cases, non-responsive to any other form of care find relief with deep tissue (Class IV) laser therapy. Many arthritic conditions too fragile for physical joint manipulation can be successfully treated with laser. If you have pain of muscle, ligament, tendon or joint that has been non-responsive to other forms of care or for which (due to negative side effects) medication is not a good option. Please consider this form of therapy.

Posture and Balance Education

The number one reason for joint problems is Gravity, especially in the human spine because of the way we stack our spinal bones atop one another in order to stand upright. How we stack our bones is of critical importance in terms of posture. Posture is associated with balance and energy expenditure. The more efficient our posture (in terms of maintaining a proper center of gravity) and balance are, the less likely we are to expend unnecessary energy, develop degenerative osteoarthritis or FALL.

Since my chosen contribution to healthcare is the rehabilitation and preservation of the musculoskeletal system. I believe I'd be remiss not to try to prevent the progression of this painful disease from even occurring. So during each treatment, we'll talk exercise, posture, balance, preventing spinal degeneration and avoiding a significant fall.

Financial Obligations

Major Medical Insurance

It is our experience that since your insurance is an agreement between you and them, they repay you (the premium payer) health care expenditures much more rapidly and completely than they pay the doctor. As a result we do not accept insurance assignment. This means that you pay us for the care that you receive here and if you want to submit your claims, we'll help you with the the proper coding (the language insurance companies speak in) for the purpose of helping you get reimbursed.

Auto Accidents & Worker's Comp

Here in the state of Florida, Your auto accident insurance pays your claims and then goes to the party at fault's insurance company for reimbursement if you were not at fault. You must report the auto accident within 14 days in order to receive benefits, for which we may (depending on individual circumstances) accept assignment. Worker's Compensation Insurance is not required to cover care delivered by a chiropractic physician - so except in very rare instances - they don't. If your injury was employment induced and you'd like to receive chiropractic or laser therapy, you will have to pay out-of-pocket for your care. If the injury results in litigation and you win, you will be re-paid for your healthcare expenditures.

Medicare

Medicare pays for SOME chiropractic spinal care. - They don't pay for examinations or laser or ultrasound or x-rays or MRI's if ordered by a chiropractor. They don't pay for extremity adjustments (like shoulders, hips or knees). In short, they pay a portion of spinal adjustments only, and only IF the injury is diagnosed by an exam that you pay for and the treatment is proven to be as a result of that injury, and only for a short episode of treatments. If these episodes are in any way patterned, they are subject to scrutiny and judged to be for maintenance care and if we get paid for a maintenance adjustment Medicare calls it federal insurance fraud. Medicare does not pay for ANY type of maintenance care. If you were a Chiropractic Physician, would you take the risk?

I won't.

Medicare and Maintenance

If an arthritic patient were to have an area that frequently gets sore or re-injured then they need to pay for a new exam each time because by Medicare law - a free exam is considered a form of inducement by the doctor for the doctor's financial gain. Medicare will not put any clearly defined limit on the number of treatments within an episode nor the number of episodes within a given year but warns that any chiropractor whose statistics fall outside the non-published "bell curve" will be considered an "Outlier" and be subject to a Medicare Audit!

Medicare Office Policy

I have chosen not to work with Medicare, nor voluntarily interact with them in any way. Many Medicare aged people choose to visit this office for an examination, diagnosis and prognosis of their condition in order to fully understand their options. If a Medicare patient is found to have a condition that does fall with in probable Medicare Chiropractic Coverage Guidelines then I will explain the type and parameters of care needed but not accept the case. The patient is then released from care here to choose another chiropractor who is willing to take the aforementioned risks of interacting with Medicare for their care . Medicare does provide a clause in their ABN that does enable me treat these patients.

If You're on Medicare and Want Care Here

Medicare's ABN (Advanced Beneficiary Notice) does provide YOU the option to choose (by your directive) for me NOT TO FILE YOUR MEDICARE CLAIMS. If you select this (option 2) when asked to sign an ABN, then I can and will deliver care to you.

In addition, I offer a number of Health Maintenance Programs (HMP's) that enable you to receive care here and even at reduced rates.

If you're interested, request a list of options from the front desk.

Animal Chiropractic Care

In Cooperation With The Veterinary Community

The American Veterinary Chiropractic Association is a multidisciplinary group of Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine (DC), who work cooperatively to determine competency for an animal chiropractic certification. Through rigorous testing (written, oral and practical) doctors of either specialty, must, after proper cross training (of typically 12-14 months) sit for, and successfully pass the AVCA certification examination. (In addition to being AVCA certified) I have served on the board of examiners (determining if other DVMs and DCs are competent enough to be certified) and been treating large and small animals since 1998 .

Large Animal (Equine)

I have spent 20 years and thousands of hours in continuing education and practice studying gait analysis, motion palpation of the musculoskeletal system of the quadruped and closed reduction of subluxations (adjusting malfunctioning joints).

If you, your veterinarian, your farrier or your trainer feel that your horse might have this kind of problem you can schedule an appointment for me to evaluate your horse and if appropriate, treat it.

Most care is delivered at Sarasota Equine Associates with whom I've been associated for over 10 years

Small Animal Care

The AVCA certification that I received and deliver the certification examination through, also includes small animals. So at least half of my 20 years of animal chiropractic care has been focused on small animals, (predominantly dogs and cats).

At their request, I've worked in many of the veterinary clinics here in the Southwest Florida Area. Nowadays I'm often just sent veterinary referrals to be seen outside of their clinics. I always do my best to work cooperatively with other professionals and within the confines of the laws.

So many animals suffer needlessly with joint pain or have to take medications that have severe side effects that it is my primary mission in my professional life to help these animals with chiropractic care.

Animal Chiropractic FAQs

Complementary Care

Animal chiropractic care is not intended to replace traditional veterinary medicine. Complementary care is a type of care that works with your veterinarian and certainly not instead of them. The professional animal chiropractor should seek cooperation and perhaps even permission and/or assistance from the primary care physician, the veterinarian

What You Should Do

If you choose to add animal chiropractic to your animal's health care, it is proper to inform your veterinarian of your decision. As a professional, they may want to converse with me before and/or after treatment. Remember, your goal is to see that everyone is working together in the best interest of you and your animal(s).

How Chiropractic Helps

Performance animals are athletes. An athlete's performance is based on it's ability to bend, twist, turn, stretch, flex or in some way move in a very specific manner. Chiropractic's benefit is twofold. First, it works with the neurologic system to improve the communication between the brain and the body (enhancing balance and coordination amongst other things) Second, a joint that doesn't move properly won't allow the animal to flex, extend, reach or rotate the way it should and this too prevents an animal's optimum performance.

What Will The Animal Chiropractor Do

The animal chiropractor is trained to find and correct, first and foremost, subtle spinal joint misalignment or mobility problems called subluxations that can interfere with the brain-body communication. Second, they evaluate and improve the rest of the body joints' mobility. So when you, or the animal's brain tells it's body to do something, it's body responds in the most perfect manner that it is genetically capable of responding. The chiropractor accomplishes this with an adjustment.

A Little More About Adjustments

First, they don't hurt the animal. Adjustments are gentle, safe, specific movements of the joints, performed sometimes by hand and sometimes with a specialized instrument. Improvement is oftentimes dramatic; however, in severe cases a series of adjustments may be necessary.

How Do I Know If My Animal Needs Care

In the case of unexplained lameness (after traditional veterinary examination) an evaluation by a certified animal chiropractor would be appropriate. Performance animals that just aren't reaching their past or expected potential might be in need of chiropractic care. Pets that avoid certain postures or behaviours that they previously used. Pets that won't jump up or down from things like cars or trucks or beds or couches. Performance animals that resist certain movements or are just resistant to work. Animals that have had falls, collisions, accidents, or demonstrate gait abnormalities or an inability to stand without constant weight shifts should also be examined. Perhaps the owner just wants to insure that the animal is capable of moving in the way it's being asked or needs to move. Remember, maybe it's not that the animal won't maybe it's that they can't.

Choosing An Animal Chiropractor

The American Veterinary Chiropractic Association is THE accepted certifier of veterinarians and chiropractors who have completed more than a year of postgraduate training and successfully passed rigorous testing. I sit on the board of examiners of the A.V.C.A.. (In other words I help administer the test.) We on that board go to great effort to see that those who successfully pass the exam and are certified can truly deliver the level of care necessary to make it safe and effective for your animal. Make sure your animal chiropractor is A.V.C.A. certified. .

Dr. Mark D'Amato