Personalized Naturopathic Care in Cranbrook

Trent graduated from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR, in 1997, when he moved to Cranbrook to start his practice focusing on holistic health. In 2008, he joined his practice with Kootenay Chiropractic and Kootenay Massage to form the Kootenay Health Centre, emphasizing integrative medicine. In 2009, he married Liza, and in 2010, they welcomed their daughter Ella. Coco, the family Cockapoo, arrived in 2021. Trent is active outdoors, enjoying hiking, snowmobiling, wakesurfing, and traveling.

His practice focuses on treating pain in the spine and periphery using naturopathic treatments such as ultrasound-guided prolotherapy, PRP, prolozone, hyaluronic acid, cortisone, neural therapy, and peri-neural therapy. Trent also utilizes a variety of intravenous therapies to address conditions like cancer, heart disease, fatigue, heavy metals, and a range of other chronic diseases. He has prescribing authority in BC, allowing him to prescribe various pharmaceutical agents, including hormones and antibiotics. His experience demonstrates that combining the best of pharmaceutical medicine with holistic natural medicine yields the best outcomes.

In addition to his clinical practice, Trent also teaches. He is  part-owner and instructor for West Coast Injection Training, a group that educates NDs, MDs, PAs, and NPs in palpation-based and ultrasound-guided injection therapies for the peripheral joints and spine.  He is also a Lead Instructor for Sport Medicine Ultrasound Canada, a training group that teaches GPs, ER docs, specialists, and NDs how to perform ultrasound-guided PRP, hyaluronic acid, cortisone, and prolotherapy. 

Dr. Brereton offers a free 15-minute visit to discuss your health concerns within the realm of holistic health. This time is designed to give you insight into his approach to integrative medicine and to assess if he may be able to support you with naturopathic treatments. It’s not a treatment appointment, but rather an opportunity for both of you to determine if working together feels like a good fit.

Long waitlists can make it frustrating to get a diagnostic ultrasound or an injection for pain. Dr. Brereton offers musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound scanning and procedures with relatively short wait times, aligning with the principles of holistic health. He employs ultrasound to guide almost all of his injection therapies, enhancing safety, accuracy, and outcomes, which are essential components of integrative medicine and naturopathic treatments.

Concentrated platelets derived from your blood play a vital role in holistic health by stimulating the repair of injured tissues when injected into and around the damaged area. Dr. Brereton utilizes two systems: the Arthrexx Angel, which concentrates platelets 8-18 times more than normal, and a manual system that achieves a concentration of 3 times normal. The Angel system, although more expensive due to its $400 kit and dedicated centrifuge, optimizes platelet concentration, making it a preferred choice in integrative medicine. The quantity of platelets injected into injured tissues is crucial for the success of these naturopathic treatments. Different tissues necessitate varying platelet counts, with joints requiring significantly more than ligaments and tendons. For instance, if a knee is injected with a billion or fewer platelets, the treatment is likely to fail. However, injecting 5-10 billion platelets greatly enhances the chances of success. Smaller blood draws yield lower platelet counts, which is why Dr. Brereton prefers larger volumes for generating PRP injections. He reserves the manual system for ligaments and tendons, utilizing a minimum of a 60 ml blood draw to boost platelet count. For larger joints like the knee, he employs the automated Angel system with 180 ml blood draws, consistently producing the required 5-10 billion platelets in the PRP injection. When seeking PRP treatment, it's essential to understand the blood volumes and PRP concentrations being used, as these factors are critical to successful outcomes. Research clearly indicates that small blood volumes and low platelet count PRP injections are ineffective, while treatments employing larger blood volumes and high platelet concentrations are significantly more likely to succeed.

Ultrasound, or sonography, is the use of sound waves to create an image on a screen that can be used in holistic health approaches to diagnose and treat the body, complementing integrative medicine and naturopathic treatments.

Ultrasound guided injections are an integral part of holistic health, utilizing ultrasound to precisely place treatment needles for various naturopathic treatments such as prolotherapy, cortisone, platelet-rich plasma, anesthetic, 5% dextrose, and hyaluronic acid. This advanced technique allows Dr. Brereton to visualize the target area, the needle, and all surrounding tissues, enhancing the safety, accuracy, and effectiveness of the injections within an integrative medicine framework.