Gently and compassionately helping people with physical pain

For the past 40+ years, Dr. April Modesti and her team at the Serenity Chiropractic Center have been compassionately applying her gentle approach to chiropractic to the benefit of the communities in Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Redwood City.

“What makes us different is that I listen to my patients and help them by applying a very gentle, caring, and personalized treatment. I am at the very gentle end of the chiropractic continuum and apply my treatment in a non-traumatic way and so I attract people that want somebody to be gentle and less invasive with them. I feel good when someone enters my practice and after one or more sessions leaves my practice with a smile and are relieved of their pain.”

Her approach has people seeking her sometimes from as far afield as San Francisco and San Jose. People with various types of problems seek out her specific approach and treatment. Regularly, Dr. Modesti will treat people with back pain (lower or mid), neck pain, or joint pain, and people with allergies and environmental sensitivities visit her often due to her gentle and kind approach.

Although others may have closed their businesses for a few months during the pandemic, Dr. Modesti kept her practice open. She knew that even during the pandemic people were still hurting and true to her compassionate and caring nature she wanted to be there for those people in need and pain. Her unique approach and gentle treatment have also earned her rave reviews from her patients as can be seen from some of the reviews below.

“Dr. April Modesti is a very gentle but very thorough chiropractor. She deals with the symptom I describe and checks to make sure I am not out of alignment anywhere else as well. She has been treating me as needed for over 10 years, and I am happy to recommend her to friends and colleagues.”
– Margo.

“I have used Dr. Modesti for healing and gentle chiropractic work for many years, and trust her gentle touch and knowledge of the body and nutrition to help me heal.”
– Leslie.

“I’ve known AJ as a chiropractor and friend for 20 years. She is a gentle, caring healer who has healed my body from distress and stress many times. I always feel confident recommending my clients to her because I know she will help and care for them.”
– Ellen.

Dr. April Modesti is the owner of Serenity Chiropractic in Los Altos. She grew up in Pennsylvania. While not a born native to the Los Altos community, she has made this her home for the past almost 50 years. Dr. Modesti is what we like to call a Local Biz Hero, a self-made entrepreneur who brings true value to her community. High standards of professionalism and the strong work ethics of small business owners like Dr. Modesti are the foundation of the Los Altos economy.

She is the proud owner of a Shih Tzu, named Stretchie, a senior dog rescue. They go for a walk four times a day and it helps her with her exercise regime. Her favorite fun thing to do is to go to the beach. It feels to her as if she has gone to another country and is on vacation.

She says she owes big gratitude to two people during her journey. The first is Hedy Koeberl, a hairdresser at Thomas & Hedy Salon who has loaned her the money and encouraged her to start her chiropractic practice. Although she has paid her back, she has since passed away, but she feels that her life would have turned out very differently without Hedy’s support both financially and as a dear friend. Secondly, it is her very competent and reliable office manager of 21 years, Lisa Miller. Dr. Modesti says
that Lisa is her rock and that she is very grateful for her.

Dr. Modesti does much to give back to the community and local business ecosystem as Serenity Chiropractic supports various animal rescue shelters such as Muttville Senior Dog Rescue and other animal charities. She also has a long-standing relationship with women’s networking groups.

We sat down with Dr. Modesti for a quick interview –

Q: What do you enjoy most about what you do?

A: “If someone enters your practice with a pain in one place, you need to look at the person holistically because you may have to deal with something else somewhere else in the body to make the pain go away. It is extremely satisfying to see someone leave your practice after one or more sessions smiling and completely relieved of their pain. I just really love what I do. It makes me happy.”

Q: How did you get into this profession?

A: “I was almost lost to chiropractic having first been a scholar in Sociology. After a car accident had left me with chronic neck pain, it was a chiropractor whose treatment relieved me from my neck pain. It had made such an impression on me that I decided to rather pursue a chiropractic career. I am an honors graduate of Pennsylvania State University and the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. I am also a certified Veterinary Chiropractitioner.”

Q: Being a chiropractor, Dr. Modesti works directly with many people, we asked her what’s the most unusual situation that ever happened to her on the job?

A: “A while back a man came in and he had severe neck pain and it was like his arm was just hanging there, limp by his side. I gave him, I can’t remember if it was one or two adjustments, but when he came back, he was able to use his arm as if there was never something wrong. The interesting thing is that it happened after that with animals. One day a patient of mine had a dog in the back of her car that has lost the use of her back legs. As a gift to my friend who was about to put her dog to sleep, I just did a
little tapping on the spine of the dog and within a few days, he was running around again. Since then, I have seen it happen on various occasions with animals. The key is to catch it as early as possible. Due to my certification as a Veterinary Chiropractitioner, I have spent time at Vets treating animals.”

Q: If you could share one tip with the readers for choosing a chiropractor, what would it be?

A: “Look for an experience beyond the chiropractic degree, like have they done any advanced studies or do they have enough years of experience under the belt. Most people, especially if they are afraid in the beginning, look for compassion, kindness, and someone that is prepared to listen to them as well as expertise.”

Q: You have a very special interest in nutrition. How does nutrition fit in with what you do?

A: “With all the nutrition classes that I have taken, I have certifications for advanced study with nutrition. It is like preventive medicine, you know your diet, exercise, and a bunch of other factors that go into preventing these things from going wrong. Nutrition is also helpful to relieve joint pain. Before the pandemic, I gave monthly classes on nutrition and I also wrote a book, ‘Mandala Salad’, which is available on Amazon. These classes will resume when things are opening up.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about your community?

A: “The things that I love most about my community are it’s beautiful, peaceful, very friendly and it feels safe.”

For those of you who are looking for a professional chiropractor to consult regarding your pain, Dr. Modesti at Serenity Chiropractic in Los Altos should be your first choice. Dr. Modesti provides a discount to those older than 65 and those eligible for Medicare. Call Dr. Modesti at (650) 949-1089, send her an email at serenitychiro@sbcglobal.net, or visit www.serenitychiro.com today – a kind, gentle and compassionate chiropractor that delivers results!