Active Family & Sports Chiropractic

About the Doctor

Dr. Michelle Chu was born and raised in Davis, where she played on the Davis Senior High School Tennis team and was a member and camp instructor for Davis Tennis Club. She also attended Davis Chinese School for 10 years, where she also taught traditional Chinese dance and tai chi.

Dr. Chu received her Bachelor's Degree from UC San Diego, where she played on the Women's Lacrosse team. After sustaining multiple injuries, but continuing to play through them, Dr. Chu became interested in preventative and rehabilitative care for athletes. She went on to receive her chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic West in San Jose, CA, where she was an active participant in the school's prestigious Sports Council, which offers medical and chiropractic care to professional, semi-pro, and amateur athletes in events across Northern California. Dr. Chu has treated at events such as the Kona Ironman in Hawaii, the Sea Otter Classic biking event in Laguna Seca, Monterey, and the International Children's Games at Stanford University.

In addition to a standard chiropractic adjustment, some techniques used during a regular treatment with Dr. Chu include Active Release Technique (A.R.T.), Tecnica Gavilan, Trigger Point Therapy, RockTape (kinesiology taping), and Selective Functional Movement Assessment or Biomechanics Evaluation. These techniques allow for a functional approach to treat pain and injuries to reach maximal recovery in minimal time.

Medical Professionals are limited by HIPAA as to what information they can make public about their patients, including who their patients are. As such it is very hard for Doctors, Dentists, and Psychiatrists to respond to negative comments on the wiki. Please keep this in mind while reading any comments.

2011-01-24 13:56:07   I saw Dr. Chu for some neck pain and she was very helpful and professional. —CharlesAdelsheim

2011-08-02 10:36:31   Dr. Chu or as I call her Dr. Pain! As a cyclist and bicycle racer I use muscles I never knew I had! Any issue I have with muscles and cycling, Dr. Chu has been able to resolve and treat. ART has been the best option for my needs and I cannot say enough about Rock Tape, it is a miracle tape! Sure, I can purchase the tape on my own but it would not be as effective as if applied it to myself. Dr. Chu always goes above and beyond, she knows her stuff! I would recommend her to anyone having muscle issues! —KristenHill

2012-05-31 21:05:20   Dr. Chu is the only chiropractor I refer my clients to now because as good as it feels to have your "back cracked" I no longer feel good about endorsing this method of chiropractic (otherwise known as high velocity adjustments- yikes!) Adjusting joints without addressing the soft-tissue imbalance and strain underlying them just means you're signing up for indefinite chiropractic.

I am a massage therapist practicing full time now for 7 years and I believe the majority of chronic pain my clients suffer from poor posture and overuse can be very effectively addressed by ART, Dr. Chu's preferred method of treatment, in combination with massage therapy,. ART stands for Active Release Technique and involves the chiropractor pinning the connective tissue while having the client engage and lengthen the muscle.

I am a semi-regular client and I can tell you it isn't always pleasant but it keeps me working. In addition to the heavy load I place on my musculoskeletal system, I have a lovely history of car accidents (none of them my fault, I swear!) and whiplash that have taken a physical toll. ART with Dr. Chu has had a progressive healing effect on these injuries which is significant given that the initial window of healing has long passed.

I recommend the deep muscle work and kinesio taping to anyone who suffers from chronic pain that other doctors, PTs, massage therapists, surgeons, etc have said can't be fixed. She has a very high success rate and really you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The most impressive thing about Dr. Chu is her integrity. She always tells clients that if they aren't significantly, like mostly, improved within 6 sessions then she's probably not the provider they need. Very few chiropractors operate on this model of short term, results-oriented treatment and it's the icing on the cake for me when I send people her way. —LilyS

2012-07-09 21:42:27   Dr. Chu has been fixing me up for over a year now and has saved the day many a time. I highly recommend!!! —BethJacobs

2014-01-28 08:10:14   After reading the positive reviews here, along with the personal recommendation from an acquaintance I decided to visit Dr Chu for help with Sciatic foot and leg pain. The A.R.T. method she uses from my point of view was a very deep vigorous massage which actually made my problem worse. I was very disappointed and should have asked for my money back. I felt hurt and angry. She never explained what she was doing before she did it. I could sense while lying on the table that it was not good. Dr Chu may be good for some people but she did not help me at all. —DavidJoshel