Frequently Asked Questions

A concierge practice operates outside the insurance billing system. Instead of seeing 25–30 patients per day to cover insurance overhead, Dr. Knopp sees a small number of patients and charges directly for his time. The result is longer appointments — typically 60–90 minutes for an initial visit — a physician who actually examines you, and direct access without waiting weeks for a slot.

In a standard insurance-based practice, the 15-minute visit isn't a physician choice — it's an economic constraint. A complex musculoskeletal patient cannot be adequately evaluated in 15 minutes. The concierge model removes that constraint.

No. This is a private-pay practice. Dr. Knopp does not accept insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid for office visits or OMT. Transparent pricing is listed upfront — there are no surprise bills.

Interventional procedures performed at Hartford HealthCare (epidurals, RFA, nerve blocks, Sprint PNS) are billed through the hospital system and may be covered by your insurance separately. Ask your insurer about coverage for those specific procedure codes.

The initial visit fee covers a complete intake history, full musculoskeletal examination, imaging review, and hands-on osteopathic treatment — all in the same appointment. You leave with a diagnosis, a treatment plan, and actual treatment performed. There is no separate charge for the OMT performed during that visit.

Return visits at $250 cover the follow-up examination and OMT treatment. There are no facility fees, no separate billing for techniques used, and no surprise charges.

Contact Dr. Knopp directly — by phone at (860) 325-2869 or through the contact form. There is no online scheduling portal. New patients are accepted on a space-available basis — Dr. Knopp keeps the practice intentionally small to maintain appointment quality.

Bring any relevant imaging — MRI, X-ray, CT — on disc or with a radiology report. If you have prior surgical records, operative notes, or prior treatment summaries, those are helpful but not required. Wear comfortable clothing you can move in; you will be examined standing, seated, and supine.

There is no intake paperwork to complete in advance. Dr. Knopp takes the history himself at the start of your visit.

No — and the distinction matters clinically. A chiropractor completes a 4-year chiropractic degree and is licensed to perform spinal manipulation. A Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) completes a full 4-year medical degree — equivalent to an MD in scope — plus additional training in osteopathic principles and manual medicine. Dr. Knopp is also fellowship-trained in Pain Medicine and board-certified in both PM&R and Pain Medicine.

This means Dr. Knopp has full diagnostic authority: he can order imaging, interpret it, prescribe medications, perform procedures, and refer to specialists — none of which a chiropractor can do. He can also determine when manual therapy is not the right treatment and escalate to something more appropriate. OMT is one tool in a physician's toolkit, not the only tool.

Technique-wise, DO training covers 8+ manual modalities: high-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA), muscle energy, myofascial release, strain-counterstrain, balanced ligamentous tension, facilitated positional release, craniosacral, and visceral manipulation. Technique selection is based on clinical presentation, not a standard protocol applied to every patient.

The treatment itself should not be painful. Mild soreness at treated areas for 24–48 hours afterward is common — similar to post-workout muscle soreness — and is a normal tissue response. This typically resolves by day two.

Technique selection is based on your presentation. High-velocity thrust techniques are not used on every patient — if you are acutely inflamed, have osteoporosis, or are post-surgical near the treatment site, gentler techniques such as muscle energy or myofascial release are used instead. Dr. Knopp will explain what he is doing and why at each visit.

It depends on how long the problem has been present and how the tissue responds. Acute conditions — a recent injury or new-onset pain — typically respond in 2–5 sessions. Chronic conditions that have been present for months or years generally require 6–12 sessions before meaningful, durable change is established.

Progress is reassessed at every visit. If you are not responding as expected, Dr. Knopp will tell you directly and discuss whether a different approach — procedures or regenerative therapy — is more appropriate.

Yes, in many cases. Surgery addresses a specific structural problem — a herniated disc, a stenotic segment — but it doesn't correct the compensatory patterns that developed above and below the surgical level. Patients who had a lumbar fusion frequently develop adjacent segment loading issues, pelvic tilt, and hip flexor dysfunction that their surgeon was never trained to address.

OMT can treat those post-surgical compensation patterns. Techniques are selected carefully to avoid direct manipulation at the surgical site; the work happens in the segments above and below, and in the pelvis and hips. Many patients with failed back surgery syndrome find that the compensatory component was never treated at all.

All interventional procedures — epidural steroid injections, radiofrequency ablation, nerve blocks, spinal cord stimulation, and Sprint peripheral nerve stimulation — are performed at the Hartford HealthCare Pain Treatment Center, not at Dr. Knopp's private office.

Your initial evaluation, OMT treatment, and follow-up care all happen at the West Hartford office. If Dr. Knopp determines a procedure is appropriate, it will be scheduled and performed at the hospital facility. You do not need to see another physician to arrange this — Dr. Knopp evaluates and performs.

No. You can contact Dr. Knopp directly. He performs his own consultations and determines independently whether a procedure is indicated — there is no referral chain. If you come in for OMT and he determines a procedure would serve you better, or in addition, he schedules it himself through Hartford HealthCare.

Interventional procedures performed at Hartford HealthCare are billed through the hospital and are generally covered by major insurance plans, subject to your deductible, copay, and prior authorization requirements. Coverage depends on your specific plan and the procedure — epidural steroid injections and RFA are commonly covered; newer technology like Sprint PNS has selective coverage.

Office visits and OMT at the private practice are not covered by insurance and are billed directly at the flat rates listed.

Radiofrequency ablation uses a needle-tip electrode to deliver a focused burst of radio-wave energy that heats and disrupts a specific nerve — in this case, the medial branch nerves that carry pain signals from the facet joints, or the lateral branch nerves from the sacroiliac joint. Disrupting those nerves interrupts the pain signal without affecting motor function.

RFA is performed only after diagnostic nerve blocks confirm that those nerves are the pain source. When appropriately selected, it typically provides 6–12 months of meaningful pain reduction. The nerves regenerate over time, and the procedure can be repeated. It is one of the more durable non-surgical pain interventions available.

Sprint PNS (Abbott) is a temporary peripheral nerve stimulation system. Thin, flexible leads are placed near the target nerve under ultrasound or fluoroscopic guidance — no implant, no surgery. The leads remain in place for 60 days and deliver mild electrical pulses that modulate how the nerve transmits pain signals. After 60 days, the leads are removed in clinic.

Sprint is used for a range of peripheral nerve pain conditions, including post-surgical pain, chronic shoulder pain, and lower extremity pain. Dr. Knopp has noted that "a lot of doctors and facilities are not doing it — and we're doing it quite a bit." Aetna covers Sprint PNS for select indications; other insurers vary. It is medication-free and carries no permanent implant risk.

PRP (platelet-rich plasma) is made from your own blood. A sample is drawn, centrifuged to concentrate the platelets 3–8 times above baseline, and injected into the damaged tissue the same day. Platelets release growth factors — PDGF, TGF-β, VEGF, IGF-1 — that signal tissue repair and matrix remodeling. It is autologous (your own cells), minimally manipulated, and FDA-compliant as a same-day preparation.

It is not the same as the "stem cell therapy" advertised at many clinics, which typically involves allogeneic (donor) amniotic or umbilical products. Those products are not FDA-approved for orthopedic use and have a poor evidence base. Dr. Knopp uses only autologous, same-day preparations — your own blood or your own bone marrow, never donor material.

No. PRP and BMAC are not covered by insurance for orthopedic indications. They are not FDA-approved for these uses — they are FDA-compliant as autologous preparations, but that is a different standard. All regenerative procedures are private pay. Pricing is discussed at consultation.

PRP works through biology, not pharmacology — so it is slower than a steroid injection. Days 1–3 bring soreness and mild swelling at the injection site; this is normal and expected. Weeks 1–3, most patients notice no change — cellular recruitment and early matrix remodeling are happening below the surface. Meaningful improvement typically begins at weeks 4–8. Peak benefit is usually reached at 3–6 months.

Avoid all NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin) for 2–4 weeks after the injection. These drugs suppress the platelet-driven inflammatory cascade that produces the therapeutic effect.

Candidacy is determined at evaluation, not before. In general, PRP is appropriate for knee osteoarthritis (grades I–III), chronic tendinopathy unresponsive to conservative care, and partial-thickness rotator cuff tears. It is not appropriate for grade IV bone-on-bone arthritis, complete full-thickness tears, active infection, active malignancy, or uncontrolled diabetes.

Roughly 60–70% of well-selected patients achieve meaningful, sustained improvement. PRP is not a cure — it improves symptoms and function; it does not regenerate cartilage visible on MRI. If the evidence doesn't support PRP for your specific situation, Dr. Knopp will tell you directly rather than recommend a treatment unlikely to help.