Irene Minkowsky, MD

Dr. Irene Minkowsky is a fabulous doctor! I experience chronic pain from cervical spine compression triggering nerve and muscle pain from even the slightest movement of my head and body. I could barely sit or walk and was hardly ever pain free. Since beginning to work with Irene a few months ago I have improved my range of motion greatly! Irene spends time with me, she listens, she clearly cares and she suggests treatments that no other doctor or practitioner had suggested. I started to be able to manage my chronic pain under her guidance. Her hands-​on manual work is subtle, energetic and miraculous.

I was attended by Dr. Robert Mikownsky for a injured tendon, he was great and incredibly nice, he is very experienced and recommended a certain type if massage in the tendon, immediately I started to feel improvement and relief, I truly recommend to go with him.

I was referred to Dr. Irene Minkowsky by my fabulous Doctor Munnich for Fibromyalgia and significant degenerative disk disorder of the lower back as well as other issues that are more of a private nature. I just had my first appointment and though I have only been through her thorough diagnosis I am so blown away by her compassion and healing abilities. I can tell she has the best bedside manner outside my General Doctor and childhood Dentist that I have ever seen in my entire life. I have been booked for 3 appointments in weekly increments and she insists that she can teach me techniques to help improve my chronic pain where the need for drug therapy will be reduced. I must say I have faith in her and now reading her Unilocal reviews I can say to anyone to get in to see her. she accepts medicare too! I may add updates on the progress of my therapies with her.

I had a very stubborn pain in my hamstring tendon — at the attachment at the knee. The pain prohibited me from walking for a YEAR and that pain and inflamation then spread throughout my back. I should mention, I’m only 41 and typically in good health.
After over a year, I had seen various doctors, chiro, PT, and a podiatrist and none were able to help with my pain.
Because she looks at the «whole person» versus just the pain, she was able to map out a plan and we tried a lot of different things that eventually worked. She also taught my husband how to «roll» my back and legs and that helped stop the cycle f pain.
As others have mentioned, Dr. Irene Minkowski is incredibly generous with her time — her appointments are typically one hour and she has a wonderful eastern + western medicine approach. I would recommend her without any question.

Dr. Irene Minkowsky is a very caring, wonderful doctor. Unfortunately, my insurance changed and I haven’t been able to see her on a regular basis since last year. She helped me relieve a lot of my pain with exercises and some osteopathic techniques and massage techniques (skin rolling). You can tell she really cares about her patients and her job. I really like her and soon my insurance will be changing. I hope she is on my plan.

I started seeing Dr. Irene Minkowsky a couple of weeks ago when I began to experience pain from a back injury that had been healing. The sciatic pain down my left leg increased day by day over a period of two months, and eventually became bad enough that had to go back to taking anti inflammatory meds. I have seen a few back docs in SF, and no one has been able to do what Dr. M did in just one week.
At the first visit, Dr. M evaluated every part of my body, including body parts that traditional doctors would never even think of exploring. I left feeling cared for and hopeful. At my second visit she used a skin rolling technique that I had never heard of, and by the time I left her office I was already beginning to feel better. She explained that the skin holds pain, and when she began this technique I was amazed at how much pain my body was holding. But Dr. Minkowsky is gentle, so don’t let this scare you off. I was literally shocked that I could easily stop taking medication after my first appointment.
Dr. Minkowsky showed me how to practice this technique on myself, and although I cannot reach my back, I can reach many places where my skin is holding pain. At Dr. M’s suggestion, I am bringing my friend in next week so she can learn the technique and help me with my back. [Yes, this is a doctor who wants to teach you how to take care of yourself rather than rake in the big bucks by saying only she can help you and you have to keep coming back.]
I just left the office after my third appointment and I feel better and better with each visit. Dr. Minkowsky is quite a woman. She’s strong and compassionate and she’s an excellent listener. She’s also delightful. She takes in everything I say and uses everything she knows to determine my course of treatment. I am so thankful I found my way to Dr. Irene Minkowsky.
PS: I asked Dr. M what kind of exercise she does and she told me that she is currently (⁷⁄₂₀₁₀) doing boot camp with her husband and a bunch of 30 somethings. As I wrote, she’s quite a woman.

As far as I’m concerned, Dr. Irene is no less than amazing…
After nearly 2 years of tests, PT and a «let’s wait and see» attitude from my GP regarding lower butt pain following a car accident, I was told by my physical therapist about Dr. Irene. My first visit lasted over an hour while she thoughtfully questioned me and gently manipulated my body. My husband was with me and when we walked out, he said, «Wow! She really knows what she’s talking about!» He was right. She used a holistic approach to diagnose my problem, then prescribed a pelvic belt and very specific PT (including ultrasound and electrode stimulation) and a home exercise program. Within a few weeks there was a noticeable improvement and I continued to slowly improve. It’s five months later now and I am completely pain-​free. I really liked her approach and the rapport she develops with her patients. She is someone who really takes the time to pull together her knowledge/​experience with your input to think through your condition and figure out what others can’t!

Wow, Wow, Wow.
Dr Irene was a total shock to me…
A Western Medical Doctor who spent an hour with me, did gentle bodywork, including cranio-​sacral and many interesting diagnostic techniques… and most incredible, did not talk down to me.
I am a Bodyworker, myself and a holistic health care practitioner and in general have found my experiences with Western Medicine to be not only lame, but in effective.
Dr Irene, however, has restored my faith that some MD’s are healers too.
I saw her for a car accident and was planning on just getting a massage referral. After my awesome session, I decided to return to her for he incredible knowledge, great energy… and the fact that she prescribed me a foam roller instead of drugs.
I Heart Irene Minkowski. If your insurance doesn’t cover bodywork, I would highly suggest her… her work IS covered… and it is awesome. Go to her now :)

She is unbelievable! I went to doctor’s, physical therapists, and chiropractors for my back pain in the past. I saw a little change, but nothing drastic. I have just begun therapy with Dr. Irene Minkowsky, and I already feel the subtle shifts and changes towards recovery.
In the short time I’ve seen her, she has already help lift the major degree of pain away, and I can feel it becoming better with each week. She is gentle and precise, and her kindess and caring are priceless. I find it a blessing that I have found her help.
Also, from other clients in the waiting room, her husband is also supposed to be amazing.
They take insurance too!
If you have back pain (or in my case hip and knee pain too) I couldn’t recommend someone with such confidence more than her.

After 3 years of enduring sciatic pain down my left leg from a slipped disk in my lower back, Dr. Irene Minkowsky helped me recover without having to resort to surgery. Mind you that she will present surgery as an option if all else fails or if you are in any kind of danger. I had spent 3 years going to other doctors and was quickly heading down the road of surgery. Other doctors had simply asked me to walk on my heels and looked at the MRI and would exclaim, «Ah-​ha! You have degenerative disc disease!» before telling me the standard spiel of the 3 options: 1) oral steroids, 2) injected steroids, and 3) surgery. By the way, don’t get too freaked out by the Degenerative Disc Disease diagnosis. Everyone’s discs are degenerating and there are plenty of people who have degenerated discs and don’t have sciatica. It’s a piece of the puzzle for sure, but don’t let anyone construe it as the full picture or use it to scare you into surgery.
For physical therapists, the first two wanted me to push through the exercises (about 20 of them!) despite any pain that I was feeling. As I found out with Dr. Irene Minkowsky and the physical therapist that she recommended (Myra Freisinger), you need to avoid anything that is going to cause the pain in your leg to increase. Since most of the exercises did cause pain, Myra Freisinger correctly recommended that I back to Dr. Irene Minkowsky to try a different approach. I would recommend Myra if you are looking for a good physical therapist.
Back to Dr. Irene Minkowsky, one thing that you’ll notice is that she will actually put her hands on your back and try to understand what is going on. Everytime you move, she’s trying to figure out the small subtleties of some of the underlying causes. These were things that we tried and the amount of pain that each relieved. Since everyone’s different, it’s important to keep an open mind — your experience might be completely different.
The things that we tried but didn’t work:
— Back brace: 0% reduction
Things that provided minor relief (especially useful at the beginning
— Traction Excercise: Good for temporary relief — nothing permanent
— Moving the vertebrae one by one while on all fours: 2% reduction in pain
— Celebrex perscription: 2% reduction
— Strengthening stomach muscles: 2% reduction
Things that made a big difference:
— Epidural steroid injection: 20% reduction (done by Dr. Hoyman Hong — excellent)
— Arch Supports in shoes: 15% reduction! (purchased at On The Run — only purchase from Amy, the male salespeople in the store were scaring off customers with their arrogant selling techniques)
— Gentle manipulation done by Dr. Irene Minkowsky: 20% reduction (she also used some Osteopathic techniques as part of her repetoire)
— Gentle manipulation by Feldenkrais practitioner: 20% reduction (done by Kaz Shibao — also excellent)
After my back was feeling better Dr. Irene Minkowsky recommended seeing acupuncturist Duncan MacDonald to see if he could find some way getting the pain out of my leg. Duncan’s successfully managed to chase the pain out of my leg — reducing it by another 20%. I felt that my disc was back in place and I was moving much better so that acupuncture could help the nerve «let go of the pain».
I realize that I’ve spent a lot of time talking about other people, but that’s an important aspect of Dr. Irene Minkowsky treatment. Not only does she have magical hands which can pinpoint what’s going on, but she also is a great project manager in terms of figuring out different approaches and recommending specific professionals who can all help solve the puzzle.
I’m 96% better and I owe a great deal of thanks to Dr. Irene Minkowsky. My life is completely changed.