Veterans suffer from chronic pain more frequently — and more severely — than most Americans. Their pain is often difficult to treat without resorting to addictive prescription drugs.

But a local chiropractor has seen great success in treating veterans using an “integrative” treatment approach. Dr. Llaird Likens, a community provider for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), uses chiropractic care combined with acupuncture, massage therapy, and other noninvasive, drug-free treatments. The combination, tailored to each patient, works to reduce pain, increase mobility and address traumatic brain injury and PTSD.

Dr. Likens has treated hundreds of area veterans over the last 22 years, and now he is expanding his practice to serve even more. His education, research, and experience have allowed him to help veterans where other treatment options, including opioids, have failed.

“One of the most gratifying and satisfying aspects of my life’s work is to be able to help the veterans of my community live fuller lives with less or no pain,” he said.

According to Dr. Likens, pain in veterans can be more complex than in nonveterans. “More than half of veterans who use VA health care have continual pain that lasts for months or years. Military training and combat are especially tough on the body. Heavy lifting, long marches and carrying bulky gear can lead to joint and back problems, not to mention arthritis and nerve damage. Traumatic brain injury and PTSD can make the pain even worse,” he explained.

Dr. Likens creates a care plan for each individual patient using multiple therapies that work together for the best possible outcome. He has a unique skillset gained through extensive postgraduate work in advanced chiropractic techniques; chiropractic biophysics; multiple certifications in acupuncture, dry needling, applied kinesiology, clinical nutrition and functional medicine; spinal and brain traumatology; and the evaluation, treatment and rating of permanent impairments.

“There’s no single combination of care that works the same for every patient. Similar injuries, ailments or conditions will affect each of us differently because we are each unique, and none of our circumstances or mechanisms of injury are exactly the same,” Dr. Likens said. “It requires knowledge of many methods of treatment and how they work in combination with each other to be able to treat each patient as an individual.”

The process starts with a conversation between doctor and veteran. Dr. Likens uses a “patient-centered” approach to care, which goes beyond just treating individual symptoms. It involves partnering with the veteran and listening to them about all their concerns in all areas of their life.

“We believe healing involves treating you as a whole person, not just your symptoms. We take the time to listen to your concerns, thoroughly evaluate your health, and work with you to create a customized treatment plan that addresses your specific goals,” said Dr. Likens.

Dr. Likens is a VA Community Care Network provider through Optum Serve. Veterans qualify for “VA community care” — care outside a VA facility — under certain conditions, such as the need for specialty care like what Dr. Likens provides.

For more information on Dr. Likens’ qualifications and services, or to find out more about how to receive care through VA’s Community Care Network, contact his 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.”