Likens is a Veterans Affairs-approved care provider 

Veterans experience high rates of chronic pain, which is strongly associated with addiction, depression and suicide risk. Care for veterans can be hard to find, and their pain is often difficult to treat. 

Enter Dr. Llaird Likens.  

Dr. Likens of Navarre Chiropractic has been providing non-opioid pain solutions to area veterans for more than 20 years. In addition to treatments such as chiropractic care, acupuncture and massage therapy to reduce pain, Dr. Likens is using acupuncture specifically to combat addiction.  

According to Dr. Likens, a Community Care provider for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), “One of the most gratifying aspects of my life’s work is to be able to help the veterans of my community live fuller lives, with less pain of course but also with the best quality of life possible. Unfortunately, addiction often goes hand in hand with veteran issues.  

“Addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Yes, pain medication might be a current addiction for someone after injury. But people cope with all kinds of trauma throughout their lives with harmful habits. We have to identify and expose the initial reason for someone’s addiction, the root cause of why someone ever felt the need to turn to any harmful method of coping,” Dr. Likens explained. 

Dr. Likens focuses on pain relief, “But we don’t stop there. The beauty about acupuncture is that it relieves pain along with restoring your mental balance, like resetting a circuit breaker. It interrupts the mental loop of addiction,” he said. 

Acupuncture gently stimulates specific points on the body with hair-thin needles, often leaving patients relaxed or even asleep. Battlefield (auricular) acupuncture (BFA) is particularly effective for pain relief, PTSD and addiction recovery. Tiny needles are placed around the ear and left in to extend the effects. 

Dr. Likens combines acupuncture with visualization, guiding patients to focus on calming images or positive thoughts. This pairing helps the body and mind respond differently to cravings, teaching the brain to associate comfort with healthy behaviors instead of substances. “Before they know it, a patient who was numbing themselves all day with vodka, for example, stops feeling as much compulsion to do it,” he said.  

Chronic pain affects over half of U.S. veterans in VA care, leaving some addicted to opioids even when prescribed only short term. About 14% struggle with drug abuse, and 25% binge drink. Suicide rates among veterans remain over 50% higher than the general population. Traditional treatments don’t always fully address these overlapping issues. 

Dr. Likens fills the gap with “complementary and integrative care,” combining chiropractic techniques, dry needling, shock wave therapy, myofascial release, neuromuscular reeducation, massage, spinal decompression and more. His approach reflects 1,000+ postgraduate hours of training, a Doctorate of Chiropractic Medicine and 22 years of practice. He holds certifications in whiplash, brain traumatology, disability impairment, acupuncture and applied kinesiology and will soon become a diplomate of the American College of Addictionology and Compulsive Disorders. 

“No single system works the same for every patient,” Dr. Likens says. “Similar injuries or conditions affect each of us differently. That’s why knowing multiple treatment methods and how they work together is essential.” 

Dr. Likens is a VA Optum provider and his treatments are referred and covered by the VA for veterans with a 50% or greater disability. 

Dr. Llaird Likens  

Navarre Chiropractic Center  

1816 Alpine Drive  

www.drllairdlikens.com  

850-939-3339 

What are his patients saying? 

“The fact that I’m not in pain most days allows me to enjoy my daily activities more to include exercise.” —RJ, Veteran  

“I love that I have been able to get relief and start enjoying my daily activities. My mood has greatly improved as well.” —MH, Veteran 

 “I feel instant relief after my visit, and I am able to manage my pain with treatments instead of pain medications.” —AW, Veteran  

“Better range of motion and less pain.” —BW, Veteran 

** “The specialty recognition identified herein has been received from a private organization not affiliated with or recognized by the Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine.” Section 64B2. For Dr. Likens’s current and properly cited Curriculum Vitae, please get in touch with Dr. Llaird Likens’s office at 850-939-3339. 

There’s a lot to like about Dr. Llaird Likens. He’s not your average chiropractor. He is multi-faceted and uses his vast array of medical knowledge to access the full body with each patient to better understand the reason for their pain.

Likens moved his practice to Navarre 10 years ago this month from Pensacola. He has been practicing chiropractic care for 21 years and he loves it.

“When you help somebody and they’re so thankful for that, that’s my favorite part,” Likens said. “They’re so appreciative because they feel different from when they walked in the door. That one moment, every time that happens, it makes me glad I do what I do.”

Likens specializes in chiropractic, acupuncture, clinical nutrition, applied kinesiology, auto accident injury and sports injury. He works with his patients and comes up with an individualized treatment plan.

“When folks come to see me, I’m usually pulling from all that knowledge and not just straight forward chiropractic,” he said.

He said a patient might come in because of a neck problem, but they end up talking about a thyroid issue or something else.

Likens graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. But he didn’t always plan to become a chiropractor. He was headed toward a medical degree and working in the renal floor of a hospital and decided he wanted something different.

“At that time, I was having neck pain from being in class all day. I went in and saw a chiropractor and just kind of had that moment where I thought I should get into chiropractic. And within a short period of time, I had changed my direction to go to chiropractic school instead of med school back in the mid-90s.”

The chiropractor that Likens went to in college – Dr. Kenneth Kaiser – ignited the spark of passion for Likens to pursue this career.

“He was a very intelligent and educated man that had a very full practice. Everyone in the community knew him and loved him.”

Kaiser encouraged Likens to switch tracks and even got chiropractic schools to send him information. He listened to the tapes and eventually applied.

Likens’s scenic route toward chiropractic care drove him to learning more about the human body as a whole and how different systems work together and affect one another. Over the course of 20 years, he has gained more than 800 hours of post-grad continued education and multiple certifications in various facets of the medical field.

This knowledge allows Likens to assess the body as a whole and not just look at the spine. Now he’s versed in acupuncture, nutrition, applied kinesiology, whiplash and trauma injuries.

“I’ve taken all of that and put it together, so when someone comes in and we’re taking a whiplash X-ray, but then I’m seeing calcium uptake in the thyroid, and I can have that conversation with a patient,” he said. “Or we can discuss, well chiropractic is not going to work for you, but acupuncture will, these other options will. So it’s given me this versatility with my patients that honestly I think is my biggest asset.”

The ability to pull from different resources with every patient sets Likens apart in Northwest Florida because it’s not common to find doctors who have done that additional research.

Just chiropractic was never enough for Likens. He wanted to learn more. He has always been curious to know more about the body.

Likens looks at the whole body as a unit, as an ecosystem where each body part serves a specific purpose. It helps to give his patients the most information he can so they can better understand what is going on in their body. It also helps him to refer his patients to the correct doctor if need be.

Likens loves his job and considers the challenging problems fun to fix. Typically, people come to the chiropractor’s office where they’re been failed everywhere else. Nothing else has worked, so they try us, Likens said.

“If you get that group of patients that are a little bit tougher to fix, and to see them really come around and do well… it’s very rewarding and I like that part. It makes me happy to help people,” Likens said.

Likens especially loves helping the military population in Navarre that live a life of service.

“I’m so glad I came to Navarre for that because that’s just super cool to take care of a guy before he leaves on deployment, take care of him when he gets back, and take care of his wife and kids when he’s gone,” he said.

Likens loves taking care of the veterans who have been through so much.

“The VA folks are coming to me with different types of trauma, and we can do acupuncture and get them back to where they’re sleeping through the night and able to have better relationships with the people around them. That’s very rewarding,” he said.

Likens is thankful to Navarre for allowing him to practice and serve others, and he plans to stay here until he retires. He loves to see results in his patients and can often see the results in their eyes.

“When you can see the pain in someone’s eyes and then, all of a sudden, the pain is gone, and their eyes are bright. That’s a huge deal that your eyes aren’t demonstrating pain,” Likens said.

“If you think about it, when you’re in pain it affects the way you think, your mood, how you sleep,” he added. “People worry that nothing is going to make their chronic pain better. I say to them, ‘It’s going to take me a couple weeks, but you’ll be fine, we’ll get you there.’ All of a sudden, you give that hope back to them when they had lost it.”