Dr. Michael Lenarz, D.C.
Founder · Blair Advanced Certified Instructor
Sedro-Woolley clinic
Read his background →Blair Upper Cervical · Seattle & Sedro-Woolley
Everything looks normal.
You know it isn't.
Many people who find us have already seen the neurologist, tried the medication and heard the scans are clear. Others are just starting to look. Either way, there is one place standard workups skip — the top two bones in your neck, where the spine meets the brainstem. That is where we start, and it is often where the answer has been.
- Seattle (206) 327-9328
- Sedro-Woolley (360) 855-1021
Blair Advanced Certified InstructorNo cracking · no twisting37+ years of upper cervical practiceImaged before adjustedSeattle · Capitol HillBoard of Directors, Blair Upper Cervical SocietyFewer visits, not moreSedro-Woolley · Skagit ValleyAuthor, The Chiropractic WayGentle enough for children and seniorsBlair Advanced Certified InstructorNo cracking · no twisting37+ years of upper cervical practiceImaged before adjustedSeattle · Capitol HillBoard of Directors, Blair Upper Cervical SocietyFewer visits, not moreSedro-Woolley · Skagit ValleyAuthor, The Chiropractic WayGentle enough for children and seniors
Why people come here
You've done everything you were told to do.
The GP. The neurologist. The ENT. Imaging that came back clean, physical therapy that helped for a week, medication that dulled the edge without touching the cause. Somewhere in there you started to wonder whether anyone was going to find it.
Those tests were looking for disease and structural damage. They were not measuring how your atlas and axis sit at the brainstem — and standard imaging is not taken at the angle that would show it.
That is the thing we look at first.
- Told your MRI and bloodwork are normal
- Given medication that manages rather than resolves
- Sent between specialists who each treat one symptom
- Had a bad experience with forceful adjusting
- Suspect the problem started with an injury nobody connected
What we're looking at
Your headaches and dizziness may begin where your skull meets your spine.
Your atlas and axis are the top two vertebrae in your neck. They sit directly at the brainstem, where every signal between brain and body passes through, alongside the vertebral arteries and the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.
When they shift out of position, the interference happens at the busiest junction in the body. That is why a structural problem at the top of the neck can show up as a headache, as dizziness, or as pain in a leg — a long way from where the misalignment actually is.
Blair Upper Cervical care addresses that misalignment. It does not treat disease, and we will tell you plainly if your imaging shows nothing for us to correct.
- 01No cracking, no twisting. The correction is delivered by hand, calculated in advance, with no forceful rotation of the neck.
- 02We image before we touch you. Every person's joint angles differ. Yours are measured, and the adjustment is built from your own films.
- 03We only adjust when testing says to. If the correction is holding, you are not adjusted again. Holding is the goal.
- 04Fewer visits, not more. The aim is a correction that stays, not a schedule that never ends.
What precise actually means
Your angles. Measured, before anyone touches you.
Those yellow lines are a real Blair analysis. Every joint angle in the upper cervical spine is measured on your own imaging, because no two people's anatomy is the same — the joint planes differ, so the correction has to differ too.
It is the reason there is no standard adjustment in Blair. There cannot be. And it is why we can tell you whether anything is out of place before we decide whether to adjust at all.
What we see most
If nothing else has worked, this is often why.
These conditions share a common thread at the craniocervical junction. Each page explains what we look for and what care involves.
Migraines & Chronic HeadachesYou've seen the neurologist. You've tried the medication. Everything looks normal — but you know something isn't right.Vertigo & Menière's DiseaseYou've been told it's your inner ear. Nobody has looked at the top of your neck.Neck Pain & WhiplashThe muscle pain gets treated. The structure underneath it does not.Sciatica & Low Back PainThe pain is in your leg. Nobody has looked at your neck.Post-Concussion SyndromeThe concussion healed months ago. The symptoms did not.TMJ, Tinnitus & FibromyalgiaSix specialists. Six diagnoses. No answer that explains all of it.
Who you'll see
Dr. Michael Lenarz, D.C.
"The body will always adapt and heal, when given the chance. Give it that chance."
- Blair Advanced Certified Instructor — trains other Blair doctors
- 37+ years practicing upper cervical chiropractic
- Board of Directors, Blair Upper Cervical Society
- Board Chairman, Sherman College
- Chiropractor of the Year — Blair Society and Sherman College
- Author, The Chiropractic Way (Bantam Books)
Two doctors, two clinics
The same technique, wherever you go.
Dr. Lenarz trains Blair doctors. Dr. Santos was trained by him and they review cases together — so the analysis is the same whether you are seen in Skagit Valley or on Capitol Hill.
Dr. Aixa Santos, D.C.
Associate Doctor · Seattle Clinic Director
Seattle clinic
Read her background →What patients say
Most arrived out of options. Most wish they had come sooner.
4.9357 Google reviews
We don't republish patient reviews on our own site. Washington treats a reposted review as our advertising, and we would rather you read them where the patients actually wrote them.
Read 204 Seattle reviews on Google →Read 153 Sedro-Woolley reviews on Google →
Blair Upper Cervical care addresses vertebral subluxation. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. Individual patient results vary.
Blair Advanced Certified InstructorNo cracking · no twisting37+ years of upper cervical practiceImaged before adjustedSeattle · Capitol HillBoard of Directors, Blair Upper Cervical SocietyFewer visits, not moreSedro-Woolley · Skagit ValleyAuthor, The Chiropractic WayGentle enough for children and seniorsBlair Advanced Certified InstructorNo cracking · no twisting37+ years of upper cervical practiceImaged before adjustedSeattle · Capitol HillBoard of Directors, Blair Upper Cervical SocietyFewer visits, not moreSedro-Woolley · Skagit ValleyAuthor, The Chiropractic WayGentle enough for children and seniors
Two Washington clinics
Come in. Let's start.
Capitol Hill
Seattle
Dr. Aixa Santos
1420 E Madison St, Suite 1
Seattle, WA 98122
Skagit Valley
Sedro-Woolley
Dr. Michael Lenarz
700 Murdock St, Suite B
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284
Your first step
Find out if this is your missing piece.
One focused examination can tell you whether your upper cervical spine is involved. We review your history, explain what Blair analysis looks at, and image only if it is warranted. If we cannot help you, we will say so and point you somewhere that can — you will leave knowing either way.
Book a consultationNo obligation. We only image if it's warranted, and we'll tell you plainly if we can't help.
Or call the clinic nearest you: Seattle (206) 327-9328Sedro-Woolley (360) 855-1021
Blair Upper Cervical care addresses vertebral subluxation. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. Individual patient results vary.