Harry D Friedman, DO, FAAO

After several rear-​end auto accidents and many years of chiropractors, acupuncture, etc. I finally had successful treatment with a kinesiologist that moved out of the country. The ONLY practitioner he frequented and recommended was Dr. Friedman. He would drive from LA to San Jose to see him before he moved.
Since then Dr. Friedman is the ONLY practitioner that I see since he can relieve my chronic pain issues from arthritis and a new knee injury. He has been the only practitioner that I can limp in to see and has me sprinting comfortably around the parking lot after my appointment. I drive from the East Bay to San Jose to see him because he is worth it.
He is now the only person I recommend to people with skeletal injuries, headaches, etc.

I called Dr. Friedman’s offices upon the suggestion of a friend to look into osteopathy, and referred me to a few in the bay area. His site feels slightly sketchy and the phone call I made to set up a consultation only proved to confirm this. I called during normal business hours and a woman picked up the phone. I explained that my friend suggested I see an osteopath and wanted to know if Dr. Friedman did Biodynamic osteopathy. She tells me «I just answer phones. That’s a question that a nurse or the doctor would know. And he doesn’t really have a nurse.» Okay… So I said, is it possible to reach the doctor so I can get an idea of his approach in dealing with my medical condition — nothing huge, just to let me know… you know… what he actually does. She said — «The doctor is really busy. And has 30 minute appointments back to back, and well you’d have to set up an appointment for that, and that’s $ 210» I let her know I wasn’t seeking to be treated right then and there, nor was I looking to take up his time with an hour long conversation nor pick his brains about my situation, but since she answered the phone and admittedly couldn’t tell me anything about the business, any medical information, his availability, (or anything at all really), I would like to be able to touch base with a doctor first before dropping $ 210 to just find out what’s going on…
She couldn’t have cared less. She sounded completely bored and uninvested. The takeaway from my interaction is… there is a lot of mystery about what this person does, but you can find out for $ 210. He is jumping from one thirty minute appointment to the next. So $ 210 was the most important piece of information to relay to me, oh, and that she really knows nothing about his business and just answers phones.
To me, a person who relies heavily on traditional medicine and science and research, statistics, etc. yet was really open to looking into alternative treatment, I think this type of sketchy interaction gives the impression that the osteopathy field is a pseudoscience. Where people are random, vague, and require an entry fee to see the show. Which I think is quite unfortunate setback to this field of medicine. There are other osteopaths I was referred to and will be taking my business, and seek solid sources for my first experience with osteopathic treatment elsewhere.
The other negative reviews feel like the same tone of my experience. Thanks again for being clear on the experience I would be getting from this office. One star for making the decision easier for me.

I have been dealing with headaches for years and have been treated by many chiropractors who were able to help me with short term relief BUT Dr. Friedman has actually helped me with long term relief. He is an excellent at getting to the root of the problem!

I have treated with Dr. Friedman periodically for the last 4 ½ years. I originally went to see him so that I could have a prolotherapy injection done to my left elbow. I had already spent over six months treating with an orthopedic surgeon who I saw on maybe six visits and never spent more than about 3 minutes with me before he would prescribe physical therapy. I spent a lot of time and money getting therapy for an undiagnosed condition that didn’t improve. I got sick of getting nowhere so I searched out prolotherapy which I had previously had injected in my LS spine to good effect.
I met with Dr. Friedman and like others have stated he didn’t want to just treat my complaint of pain but rather my entire body. That was fine with me as I have lax ligaments and thus I am near constantly nursing some misalignment or injury. I saw Dr. Friedman 3 or 4 times and he treated all the chronic issues in my hip, back, elbows, knees and feet along with some stuff I didn’t realize was an issue in other places. The chronic issues I knew existed but had learned to live with. I thought that if I wanted pain relief from them it was going to have to come from narcotic medicine which I can’t stand to use or the various types of pain management and interventional spine techniques employed today. I didn’t think an OMM practitioner could get to the bottom of these issues and give me lasting relief. OMM did help my elbow but my joint was unable to heal 100% on its own. Eventually he injected my elbow with a prolozone therapy shot and I was finally able to start using the arm again. In the time I spent with him we actually figured out what caused my injury in the first place and because of that I have been able to avoid re-​injury.
My latest visit was just last Friday July 25^th. The last time I saw him before that was July 17^th, 2013. My back and hip had been pretty twisted up for about 6 weeks and it was time for a tune up. He realigned my spine which recently was noted on xray to have mild levoscoliosis centered at L4 and cleared up a jammed right lower extremity which was especially causing me pain in the medial side of the right knee. It had actually kept me up at night two nights before I saw him. I feel great after my latest treatment and on Sunday I ran sprints at the gym for the first time in 3 or 4 years.
He is the most helpful and caring doctor I have ever treated with. You can tell that he truly believes in and is highly skilled in the principals of osteopathic medicine. He has twice helped me when I was in a jam by no fault of his own when he didn’t have to.
Just today, he helped me out of a jam created by a dysfunctional federal bureaucracy and a less than thorough east bay medical imaging facility. He had nothing to do with the problem and nothing to gain from helping me get what I needed but after I emailed him today explaining the urgency of the situation and asking for his help, he kindly did what I asked and sent the imaging facility the proper documentation which the federal bureaucracy could not supply. That is when I decided that I would finally get back on Unilocal and write Dr. Friedman a 5 star review. There just aren’t other doctors out there like Dr. Friedman.
Dr. Friedman is hands down the best OMM practitioner I have utilized. He can accomplish more than any of the many chiropractors I have been to with zero pain in doing so. Sure his treatment cost’s more but if you can afford it, it is money well spent. And obviously he treats the whole body, not just the spine. I have seen other board certified OMM DO’s and they treated me more like a chiropractor would with big, quick, painful and powerful movements. To date, Dr. Friedman has never used anywhere near that type of force on me and when he is done I feel balanced and pain free. Awesome work that lasts for months or in the case of my visit last summer, nearly a year before I needed a tune up.
Dr. Friedman is older than me and so I know there will come a day when he isn’t seeing patients anymore and that bums me out, but he does teach and so I can only hope that one of his pupils will be able to fill the considerable void left when he decides to retire his vast skill set.

Don’t waste time and money on Dr. Friedman. My kids and I went to him for many months and didn’t find any improvement. He treated me for candida and it was such a waste of time and money. It didn’t work at all.

In two words or less — HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT
I went in with a knee injury because he was highly recommended by a couple of people who were in a car accident.
The initial meeting is 1 hr, subsequent visits 30 min. He told me how everything is connected and he needs to treat the whole body which translated into treating the part that hurt for one whole minute and focused the rest of the session on the parts that did not, which was a bit odd to say the least. I should have known when he stated he can fix my scoliosis (!) and then said he cannot fix a single vertebrae that bothered me time to time.
Dr. Friedman insisted that if he fixed the rest of it the knee will fix itself (???) when my fibula was out of alinement. After 5 visits and close to a thousand dollars spent the knee hurt just the same and I needed more visits. That got me very upset and I went to my old chiropractor who worked on my knee for a full hour and made it better in just one visit for less than half of the cost of his 30 min session. Check my reviews for contact info. if you don’t like to waste your money and looking for results.

I’ve been going to Dr. Friedman for 9 months now. My neck and back issues are related to whiplash from a car accident, and exaggerated by working at a computer, cycling, etc.
After the accident I was in chronic pain for 3 years. Traditional doctors and physical therapy did not really help. In one visit Dr. Friedman «fixed» my neck and upper back. The treatment was neither invasive nor painful; there was no «cracking» involved! Of course, it’s a process, similar to climbing out of a well. There are setbacks, but I’m on the road to health.
All I can say is, he is a compassionate, gifted healer. Still can’t believe my good luck at finding him. I am constantly recommending him to friends, colleagues, and family members.

Got a stiff neck, sore back or can’t figure out what’s out of place — Harry is your man. He is an expert at skeletal alignment.

RECOMMENDATION FOR HARRY FRIEDMAN, DO FAA0
I have known Dr. Friedman since 1989 when he was practicing at St. Mary’s Spine Center. I had extreme pain in my back and legs (sciatica) and had been treated by a well-​respected orthopedic surgeon with no results and very little compassion. My physical therapist referred me to Dr. Friedman through her connections at Michigan State. From the start Dr. Friedman let me know that he could ease my pain and help me live much more comfortably. It was not a simple resolution as I had complicated structural problems. Don’t get me wrong there were setbacks but I always knew he would be there for me and we would find an answer.
Not only is he a teacher both in the US and abroad but is continually researching and learning new techniques. I have never heard, «Just give it time» or «There is nothing I can do.» If one thing doesn’t work, he tries something else. When one is in pain it is such a comfort to know that there is someone to turn to with the proper expertise and who cares.
My husband, my daughter, son-​in-​law and even my little grandson have been treated by Dr. Friedman. When my daughter was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she told Dr. Friedman before the rest of us. He said something to her in front of me that he may have forgotten. I never have. «Karen, I will be there every step of the way with you». That is his philosophy and the way he treats his patients. There is not another medical person I have ever seen to whom I would give a 10 except Dr. Friedman.