I see you. Because I’ve been there, too.
I’m Dr. Margaret Shreve, a Blair Upper Cervical chiropractor in Spartanburg, South Carolina. But long before I earned that title, I was a teenager struggling with chronic pain and unexplained health issues that disrupted my daily life. My journey into chiropractic didn’t begin with textbooks or seminars—it began with desperation. I was 14 years old, in pain, unable to function, and searching for relief that no one seemed able to offer.
It started on a coffee table—literally—with my first chiropractic adjustment. That moment marked the beginning of a journey that not only changed my health, but also shaped the purpose and passion that drives my work today.
Whether you’re exploring chiropractic for the first time or wondering if it could help with symptoms that haven’t responded to conventional care, I want to share what I’ve learned—not just as a doctor, but as a patient who knows what it’s like to feel lost in the system.
The Pain No One Could Explain
By the time I was 14, I was living in a body that felt completely unpredictable. I experienced sharp, shooting pain in my lower back radiating down my legs—especially when sitting, standing, or lying down. There was no comfortable position, no relief. Simple movements felt impossible, and many days, my dad had to come pick me up from school because I physically couldn’t walk. I remember the embarrassment, the confusion, and the sense that something was deeply wrong—and yet, no one had answers.
We saw multiple chiropractors, each offering a different approach. One adjusted me on a coffee table. Another hooked me up to electrical stimulation machines. Another used massage beds and told me to “give it time.” But none of it worked. The pain persisted. My body didn’t feel safe, and I began to lose trust in the very people who were supposed to help me.
One appointment was so painful that I couldn’t even get off the table afterward. I looked at my dad, defeated and scared, and said, “I never want to go back there.”
This wasn’t just lower back pain—it was sciatica, muscle dysfunction, and nervous system dysregulation, but I wouldn’t understand that until years later. At the time, all I knew was that my life had shrunk down to managing pain, avoiding movement, and hoping someone—anyone—would finally see what I was going through.
The Turning Point: A Different Kind of Chiropractor
While I was battling daily pain, my mother was facing a very different challenge—severe carpal tunnel syndrome. She had already been referred to a surgeon, and we were preparing for an invasive procedure. But before the surgery, a family friend suggested we try one more chiropractor—someone who took a more detailed, precise approach.
This chiropractor was unlike anyone we had seen before. He didn’t rush. He didn’t guess. Instead, he did something none of the others had done—he took proper chiropractic x-rays. That alone was a game-changer.
He studied my spinal images and then did something completely unexpected. He looked at my lower back x-ray… and then pointed to my neck.
“Your problem isn’t here,” he said, motioning to the lower back. “It’s here, pointing to the neck.”
What he explained to us that day made more sense than anything we had heard before. He introduced us to the idea that spinal misalignments—especially in the upper cervical spine—can affect the entire nervous system, creating symptoms far from the actual source. What I thought was lower back pain was actually coming from injury, instability and misalignment in my neck.
This was my first introduction to what would become my specialty: upper cervical chiropractic—a precise, gentle, and powerful approach to addressing nervous system interference at its root. And it was the beginning of a completely new chapter for both me and my mother.
Unexpected Healing: The Symptoms No One Was Treating
Within just a few months of starting specific and tailored chiropractic care, something remarkable began to happen—my body started healing in ways no one had prepared me for.
What began as a solution for my lower back pain quickly revealed a deeper truth: my nervous system had been under stress for years, and my symptoms were the result of that unresolved dysfunction. As my spine was gently and precisely corrected, my body began to regulate itself.
At first, I noticed my daily tension headaches were fading. I wasn’t waking up in pain anymore. Then, something even more surprising happened—my chronic constipation and digestive discomfort, which I had dealt with since early childhood, began to resolve. I hadn’t even mentioned those issues to my chiropractor at the start, because I assumed they were just “part of who I was.”
But they weren’t. My body had simply never had the chance to function optimally.
As care continued, the list of improvements kept growing:
These weren’t minor improvements. These were life-altering changes that dramatically improved my day-to-day experience. By the time I turned 16, it became clear: chiropractic wasn’t just helping my pain—it was helping my entire body heal.
And I began to ask, over and over:
“Can chiropractic help with this too?”
The answer kept being yes.
The Moment It Clicked
As my health began to transform, so did the way I saw the world around me. One day, I turned to my chiropractor and said something that surprised even me:
“I can’t even go to the mall. Everyone is subluxated—I can see it in their posture and the way they walk.”
I had developed an intuitive awareness of the body—how posture, gait, and subtle imbalances reveal so much about a person’s nervous system. I didn’t just feel the benefits of chiropractic care anymore… I understood it on a deeper level.
That was the moment my chiropractor looked at me and said,
“Margaret, you must do this. You understand it. You get it.”
And he was right.
That conversation was the spark—the moment I knew this wasn’t just a healing journey, it was a calling. The same insight that had helped me get my life back was something I could give to others. I realized that my story, my pain, and my breakthrough weren’t just experiences…they were preparation.
I wasn’t just a chiropractic patient anymore. I was becoming a future doctor—one who could see, feel, and understand what others might miss.
The Science Behind the Healing
What I didn’t realize back then—but fully understand now—is that the nervous system controls every function in your body. It’s the master communication system that links your brain to your organs, muscles, immune system, and more. When the spine is misaligned—even slightly—it can create interference in those critical messages. This is what chiropractors refer to as a subluxation.
When your nervous system is out of balance, your body starts to speak—through symptoms.
And often, those symptoms don’t show up where the problem is. A misalignment in your upper neck, for example, could be the root cause of your lower back pain. Or your migraines. Or your digestive dysfunction.
Here are just a few of the symptoms that may signal nervous system interference:
When I began receiving care through the Blair Upper Cervical technique, my nervous system finally had the chance to regulate itself. These precise, gentle corrections at the top of the spine allowed for full-body healing—not just symptom relief.
This is why so many patients are surprised by the ripple effects of care. When your nervous system is supported, your body can finally do what it was designed to do: heal.
Even symptoms that seem unrelated to your spine—like food sensitivities, mood swings, or low energy—often begin to resolve when the nervous system is no longer under constant stress.
A Decade Later: From Patient to Doctor
I went on to graduate from Sherman College of Chiropractic in 2008, the very same college where I deepened my knowledge of the method that changed my life—Blair Upper Cervical technique. That education gave me the clinical training to match the personal transformation I had already experienced.
Today, as a practicing upper cervical chiropractor in Spartanburg, SC, I use that same method to help my patients reclaim their health—whether they come in for lower back pain, daily migraines, post-concussion symptoms, or simply because nothing else has worked, including surgery.
But what I bring to the table isn’t just credentials—it’s lived experience. I know what it’s like to sit across from a healthcare provider, struggling to put your symptoms into words and wondering if anyone truly understands. I know the frustration of being told, “everything looks normal” when everything feels off.
I’ve been the patient who tried multiple approaches before finding answers. I’ve walked that road of uncertainty, fatigue, and medical gaslighting. And that’s why my approach to chiropractic care is different.
My care is rooted in connection, clarity, and helping you uncover what your body has been trying to tell you all along. If you’re reading this and feel like you’re running out of options, I want you to know—you haven’t.
There’s still hope. And there’s a path forward.
What I Want You to Know
You don’t have to “just live with it.”
You don’t have to keep adapting your life around pain, fatigue, digestive issues, or mental fog that no one has been able to explain. If you’ve been told your labs are normal, your scans are clear, or that your symptoms are “in your head,” I want you to know: you’re not broken. And you’re not alone.
Your body is intelligent. It was designed to heal—but when the communication between your brain and your body is interrupted, healing slows down or stalls altogether. That interruption often stems from misalignments in the spine, especially in the upper cervical region, which directly influences the central nervous system.
That’s where chiropractic comes in.
Through gentle, specific, and neurologically-focused adjustments—like those used in the Blair Upper Cervical technique—we help restore communication in your nervous system. This isn’t about “cracking your back.” It’s about reconnecting you with the natural healing capacity that’s already within you.
Whether you’re navigating daily headaches, hormonal issues, IBS, fatigue, or simply don’t feel like yourself anymore—chiropractic care might be the missing link. You don’t have to settle for symptom management. You deserve to get to the root cause and feel like yourself again.
Your healing is possible. And I’m here to help guide you there.
Ready to Start Your Own Healing Journey?
If you’re tired of being told everything looks “normal” when you feel anything but—you’re exactly who I created my practice for. Whether you’re struggling with chronic migraines, digestive dysfunction, brain fog, hormonal imbalance, or a mix of symptoms that seem disconnected, I want you to know: there is a root cause. And together, we can find it.
You don’t need to keep pushing through the pain or guessing your way toward relief. You need clarity. You need answers. You need care that sees you as a whole person—not just a list of symptoms.
As a Blair Upper Cervical chiropractor in Spartanburg, SC, I help patients reconnect with their nervous systems, restore their health, and reclaim the lives they thought they’d lost.
📅 Schedule your new patient consultation today
Let’s uncover what your body has been trying to tell you—and begin your path to real, lasting healing.
