Healthy Veterans Project

Improving Pain Management Strategies with Neuropeptide Pathway Modulation

Why Healthy Veterans Project

"I Should Know About This."

Those words have echoed in my mind ever since.

Let me introduce myself: I am Dr. Kim Shunkwiler, a 100% disabled Vietnam Veteran who receives all of my medical care at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Nearly three years ago, my health declined to the point where I had to retire from my chiropractic practice after 35 years of serving patients. Falling on my patients wasn’t an option!

In October 2023,, a friend introduced me to a company with very unique products. They hosted a golf outing at a course I often play, and I asked if I could join them. On the day of the event, I woke up with severe low back pain. By the time I got to the course, I could hardly move and assumed I’d be laid up for at least a week. I told the group I wouldn’t be able to play, but the gentleman next to me said, “I think you’re riding with me. Why don’t you just ride along with us?”

At the first hole, he asked me to lift my shirt and applied a gel to my back. He repeated this every hole for the next five holes. By the sixth hole, my back pain had improved by about 85%, and I was able to finish the round. I was more than impressed.

I continued using the product and soon found that my chronic shoulder pain—resulting from a torn labrum, torn subscapularis, and dislocated bicipital tendon—was also gone. I haven’t had a recurrence of my back pain in over a year.

I began applying the product to the soles of my feet and my umbilicus before bed. This improved my sleep and maintained my pain relief.

In December of 2023, my umbilical hernia, which I had always been able to manually reduce, became incarcerated and I was unable to reduce it. I messaged my VA primary care provider, who directed me to the emergency department immediately. At the VA Ann Arbor ED, the examining doctor told me I would likely need surgery, but two surgeons would try to reduce it manually first, warning that it would be very painful.

As the surgeons tried to push the hernia back, one of them said, “I’ve never seen anyone handle pain this well.” That’s when I realized: my nightly use of this product on my umbilicus must be why I was tolerating the pain so well. I explained to them that the product blocks the Alpha-7 subset of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. They looked at me, probably surprised that an old Vet could even say that!

Later, one of the surgeons who had seen me in the Emergency Department, came to my room to ask about the product. After I explained it, she said,

“I should know about this.”

Her words have stayed with me. She should know about this—as should every healthcare professional.

The surgery went well, and when I was being discharged, the nurse informed me that a prescription for OxyContin and Narcan was waiting for me at the pharmacy. I told her I didn’t need it, as my pain was minimal. The next day, I received an overnight package from the VA with OxyContin and Narcan inside. That package remains unopened in my closet.

That experience confirmed to me how powerful this product is, which is why I founded Healthy Veterans Project, LLC, to bring this product to my fellow Veterans and Providers.

Introducing Plus Relief: An Innovative Advancement in Veteran Pain Management

Plus Relief represents a novel, science-based advancement in the management of chronic pain among veterans. Developed through extensive research and clinical innovation, Plus Relief is specifically formulated to address the limitations and risks associated with conventional analgesics such as opioids and NSAIDs.

Utilizing cobra-venom–derived peptides, Plus Relief acts on Alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) — key mediators of pain and inflammation within the nervous system. By selectively modulating these receptors, Plus Relief interrupts the underlying neuro-inflammatory processes that drive chronic and injury-related pain, offering targeted and sustained symptom relief without the systemic burden of traditional pharmacotherapies.

Distinguishing Mechanisms and Benefits

Induced-Fit Binding Mechanism: Plus Relief demonstrates an adaptive receptor-binding process that enhances therapeutic efficiency with continued use. Over time, receptor sites conform to the peptides’ molecular structure, enabling equal or improved analgesic outcomes at progressively lower dosages. This contributes to a more stable and sustainable dosing profile over the course of treatment.
Non-Opioid, Non-NSAID Profile: By eliminating reliance on opioid and NSAID pathways, Plus Relief reduces the risk of dependency, gastrointestinal complications, renal impairment, and other adverse effects associated with these drug classes.
Targeted and Sustained Relief: The peptide-based modulation of α7 nAChRs provides durable inhibition of pain signaling, supporting improved functional outcomes and enhanced quality of life for veterans with chronic pain conditions.

Clinical Relevance for VA Providers

Plus Relief aligns directly with the VA’s strategic initiatives to expand access to non-opioid, evidence-based pain management solutions. Its unique mechanism of action offers clinicians an opportunity to improve outcomes in patients experiencing chronic, inflammatory, or injury-related pain while minimizing pharmacologic risk.

Key clinical advantages include:

Reduction in opioid and NSAID utilization rates
Enhanced long-term pain control through receptor-level modulation
Improved patient safety and adherence due to lower side-effect burden
Sustainable cost-efficiency across chronic treatment regimens

For VA providers, Plus Relief offers a novel, mechanism-driven approach to pain management — one that supports the broader mission of delivering safe, effective, and responsible care to those who have served.

Our Mission and Core Values

At Healthy Veterans Project, our mission is to identify, evaluate, and promote the most advanced therapeutic solutions for the veteran community. We are dedicated to supporting healthcare providers with the education, clinical insight, and implementation tools necessary to integrate these innovations into evidence-based care protocols.

Core Values

Integrity: Upholding the highest standards of scientific and clinical transparency.
Innovation: Advancing veteran healthcare through the application of novel biomedical technologies.
Compassion: Delivering patient-centered solutions that respect the unique challenges of the veteran population.
Collaboration: Partnering with providers to ensure effective adoption and ongoing support of new therapeutic modalities.