Interventional Pain Management

Interventional pain management specialize in relieving and managing any type of chronic pain, whether resulting from an injury or illness - these doctors help provide a higher quality of life for their patients.

About Interventional Pain Management

Physicians trained to practice interventional pain management specialize in treating patients who suffer from any type of chronic pain. Interventional pain management specialists are capable of managing all types of pain, including chronic migraines or headaches, neck and back pain, joint pain, muscle pain, bone pain, post-operative pain, and many other types of chronic pain. Techniques to manage pain within this field can be classified as either invasive or minimally-invasive.

For patients with suffering from chronic pain, interventional pain management specialists can offer a variety of treatment methods to help assuage their symptoms. After an initial consultation to evaluate the patient’s pain levels, the physician will provide the patient with their professional opinion with regard to treatment options. Treatment plans may include the injection of epidural steroids, selective epidural and root blocks, joint and trigger point injections, sympathetic blocks, spinal cord stimulation, discography procedures, radiofrequency denervation and many other treatment options.

No two patients will experience the same levels of pain in the same areas of the body, so interventional pain management techniques will affect each patient differently. For some patients, initial epidural steroid injections may relieve pain, whereas other patients will need to undergo more invasive or additional procedures in order to achieve the desired level of pain relief. Consequently, interventional pain management specialists usually maintain a close relationship with patients, monitoring pain levels and providing additional treatments if and when necessary in an attempt at relieving pain and providing the highest quality of life possible.

Interventional Pain Management Education & Training

The education and training required to become an interventional pain management doctor requires a premedical Bachelor’s degree and a four year MD or DO degree from a certified medical school. Typically, a four year residency in either anesthesiology or physical medicine & rehabilitation is undertaken to familiarize a doctor with certain practices and procedures applied in their field.

Interventional pain management doctors may wish to additionally sub-specialize by applying for a fellowship in interventional pain management or a multidisciplinary fellowship comprising of a number of sub-specialties. Physicians then apply for licensure through the state in which they intend to practice to officially own the title of interventional pain management doctor.