What the athletes got is what you get.
No mystery menu. Seven ways this office takes care of a spine — each one examined first, explained plainly, and priced up front.
Foudy Chiropractic in Mission Viejo offers chiropractic adjustment ($90 per visit, every modality included, with full diagnostic examination on the first visit), AccuSpina spinal decompression, licensed massage therapy ($90/hour, $55/half hour), exercise rehab and Stretch Well with Mel — both with Melanie L. Foudy, M.S. — an infrared light bed, and a range of therapeutic modalities on an open treatment floor.
Chiropractic Adjustment
About 30 minutes on the open floor, every modality included, then the adjustment itself — head to toe, extremities included.
The adjustment is a safe, natural, noninvasive procedure. Dr. Foudy applies a controlled force into one or more misaligned vertebrae to restore normal motion and take pressure off the nerve.
He uses six techniques and matches them to your body, not the other way around: Diversified, Sacro Occipital Technique, cervical traction, the Thompson drop table, Cox flexion/distraction, and the Activator method. Almost every joint outside the spine can be adjusted too — hands and feet, wrists and ankles, elbows and knees, shoulders and hips, ribs and jaw.
- Flexion-distraction table — a slow stretch for the mid and lower back
- Rolling intersegmental traction, up and down the spine
- Vibration platform, to wake up circulation
- Electric stim and soft tissue work where the knots are
- Saunders neck traction, when the neck needs it
- Hands-on adjustment, head to toe
What your first exam includes
Nothing is adjusted before it is measured. Dr. Foudy uses a computerized electromyograph — non-invasive electrodes sit on the skin next to the spine and measure how your nerve roots are functioning. In his words: it is like an EKG, but instead of your heart it reads your nervous system. That is the software.
A high-frequency digital X-ray unit — less radiation, better image quality — reads the hardware. Then the two are correlated: what the scan says against what the structure shows.
The comprehensive spinal exam adds dual postural scales for weight-bearing differential, head and shoulder and pelvic level, pronation check, range of motion measured with a protractor rather than eyeballed, motion palpation, and neurological testing for sensation and muscle strength. Custom-fitted orthotics are available when your feet are the foundation of the problem.
- Surface EMG nervous system scan
- High-frequency digital X-ray
- Dual postural scales and posture analysis
- Range of motion, measured
- Neurological and reflex testing
- Custom-fitted orthotics when indicated
AccuSpina Spinal Decompression
Non-surgical decompression with added oscillation, for disc herniations, bulges, sciatica, and chronic low back pain with degeneration.
Dr. Foudy flew to Florida, put the two leading decompression tables side by side, and chose the AccuSpina — for the research behind it, and for one patented detail: oscillation at maximum load, so the disc is actually worked while it is decompressed.
A course of care typically runs a set number of visits over six to eight weeks, followed by a progress exam and then a maintenance schedule — the way braces hand off to a retainer. Around the two-thirds mark, Melanie's corrective exercise work begins, so what was corrected stays corrected.
It is a gentler alternative to medication or surgery for spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, bulging and herniated discs, sciatica, and the numbness and tingling that come with them.
- Spinal decompression with oscillation at maximum load
- Adjustment bundled at a reduced rate for the duration of the plan
- Progress exam at the end of the course
- Corrective exercise handoff with Melanie
Massage Therapy
Licensed therapeutic massage in the same calm rooms, built to pair with chiropractic care the way a cool-down pairs with the swim.
Massage loosens and lengthens muscle and tendon, which opens up constricted circulation, releases the trigger points that refer pain, and lets an adjustment hold longer. Most people book the hour.
Stacy Smith brings twelve years of experience across sports, prenatal, AIS, deep tissue, and relaxation work.
- Sports and deep tissue
- Prenatal massage
- Active Isolated Stretching (AIS)
- Relaxation and Thai body work
Exercise Rehab
Rehabilitation programming with Melanie L. Foudy, M.S., so your body learns to hold the alignment it just gained.
Care does not end at the table. Melanie integrates human movement science — musculoskeletal impairments, muscle imbalances — into a customized program for injury prevention and recovery.
She also consults on the lifestyle pieces that decide whether progress sticks: healthful eating, stress management, and the daily movement habits that put you on the table in the first place.
- Customized corrective exercise programming
- Posture and movement-habit coaching
- Return-to-sport and post-injury progressions
- Lifestyle and stress-management consultation
Stretch Well with Mel
One-on-one assisted stretch therapy with Melanie L. Foudy, M.S. — she does the work of holding the position so the muscle can actually let go.
Assisted stretching gets you further than stretching alone does. Melanie moves the limb through the range and holds the end position, so the muscle releases instead of bracing against you — the same approach used on the athletes she has worked with for thirty years.
It pairs naturally with an adjustment: tissue that has been lengthened lets a correction settle, and a correction gives the tissue somewhere to settle into. Most people book the half hour alongside a regular visit.
- One-on-one assisted stretching
- Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) technique
- Myofascial release for the tight spots
- Take-home stretches matched to what she found
Infrared Light Bed
About twenty minutes of gentle full-body infrared warmth — used as a warm-up before the adjustment, or a wind-down after it.
The bed surrounds you in gentle infrared warmth rather than heating the room around you. Most people use it as a warm-up before the adjustment, because warm tissue moves more easily and tends to hold a correction better, or as a wind-down afterward when everything is still settling.
A session runs about twenty minutes. You stay fully clothed, there is nothing to prepare, and it can be added to a visit you already have booked. Ask at the front desk and Carmen will fit it around your appointment.
- Full-body infrared warmth, about twenty minutes
- Warm-up before an adjustment, or wind-down after
- Stay fully clothed — nothing to prepare
- Can be added onto an existing visit
Therapeutic Modalities
An open treatment floor you move through in sequence before the adjustment — no closed rooms, no waiting in silence.
Motorized flexion/distraction tables help significantly with lumbar disc herniation, low back pain, and sciatica. Vibration platforms assist with scoliosis reduction, decrease pain and inflammation, and support immune function and detoxification.
Intersegmental rolling traction tables address general neck and back pain and ease muscle spasm. Infrared magnetic therapy mats support circulation and speed healing. Cervical traction machines are excellent for cervical disc herniation and spondylosis, and for the numbness and tingling that radiate down the arms.
Heating pads, ice packs, and electrical stimulation round it out.
- Motorized flexion/distraction
- Intersegmental rolling traction
- Vibration platform
- Infrared magnetic therapy mat
- Cervical traction
- Electrical stimulation, heat, and ice
How much? Stated plainly.
The Adjustment Visit
Everything included
- All five open-floor modalities, plus the adjustment
- Hands-on stretching and soft tissue work included
- About 30 minutes, up to 45 when every modality is used
Spinal Decompression
AccuSpina · quoted after your exam
- Decompression plans are personal, so they are discussed after your exam
- Adjustment bundled at a reduced rate for the duration
- Progress exam, then a maintenance schedule
- Never quoted from a website — your plan comes from your own images
Massage & Stretch Lab
$55 per half hour
- Licensed massage — sports, prenatal, AIS, deep tissue
- Corrective stretching with Melanie L. Foudy, M.S.
- Most people book the hour
Want to use insurance? Call (949) 365-0403 and Carmen will verify your coverage before you come in.
Start with the exam.
Every one of these begins the same way: measure first, then decide together. One visit gets you a real answer.