Pain Medicine

Our Approach to Pain Medicine in Central Massachusetts and Beyond

Chronic pain can make it difficult to go about your day, and even the most routine tasks can be challenging. At UMass Memorial Health, you receive care that meets your needs. Our pain medicine management team provides patient-centered, comprehensive services for people experiencing chronic pain.

Your team includes board-certified pain medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, and physical medicine and rehabilitation (physiatry) experts. They work closely with physical therapists and other medical professionals to offer the most advanced diagnostic and treatment options available.
 

Our Pain Medicine Care

Many conditions can cause chronic pain. Our specialists provide care for people experiencing a wide range of conditions, including:
 

Spinal Conditions

• Chronic neck and back pain
• Herniated disc
• Internal disc disruption
• Pain due to spinal metastases
• Sacroiliac joint pain
• Scoliosis
• Spinal osteoarthritis
• Spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication (compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots causing pain, numbness, or weakness in the legs)
• Vertebral compression fractures

Neuropathic Pain and Complex Neuropathic Syndromes

• Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), including reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD)
• Painful diabetic neuropathy
• Post-trauma pain
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Sciatica

Other chronic pain conditions:

Our team treats people with many other conditions causing pain, including:

• Cancer pain
• Facial and myofascial pain
• Limb pain and post-amputation pain
• Musculoskeletal pain, such as arthritis, joint pain and joint pain after a hip, knee or shoulder replacement
• Persistent postsurgical pain following abdominal, gynecological, thoracic, orthopedic and oncological surgery
• Vascular pain, related to poor circulation, vascular disease or postsurgical vascular conditions

Pain Medicine Services We Provide

You work with a team focused on your needs. We consider your symptoms, condition, preferences and health goals when developing a treatment plan for you.

Chronic Pain Diagnosis

You may undergo various diagnostic tests so we can identify the source of the pain and plan the most effective treatment. Our diagnostic tools include:

• X-ray
• CT
• MRI
• Arthrogram
• Discography to identify sources of spinal pain
• Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies
• Nuclear medicine studies

Nonsurgical Pain Management Treatment Options 

We offer a full range of minimally invasive procedures to help restore function and relieve pain. You may benefit from medications or injections to reduce inflammation and manage pain. 

• Non-opioid medications
• Spinal facet injections and ablations
• Nerve blocks
• Trigger point injections

We also work closely with specialists in exercise therapy, physical therapy and behavioral pain management strategies designed to improve your function and quality of life

Advanced Interventional Pain Procedures

If injections are not enough to reduce the pain, we offer advanced and comprehensive interventional pain management services, including:

• Diagnostic nerve blocks pinpoint the source of pain and guide treatment planning.
• Basivertebral nerve ablation for vertebrogenic pain is a minimally invasive procedure targeting a type of chronic low back pain.
• Sacroiliac (SI) joint procedures, such as sacroiliac joint injections, ablations and minimally invasive fusion, can reduce pain due to SI joint dysfunction.
• Minimally invasive spinal spacers for spinal stenosis provide pain relief for people who are not candidates for surgery.
• Cryoablation for joint and nerve pain is a minimally invasive technique using extreme cold to target and deactivate pain-causing nerves.
• Ablation of vertebral tumors uses radiofrequency energy to reduce or destroy spinal tumors causing pain.

Neuromodulation Therapies

Our specialists provide neuromodulation therapies including:

• Spinal cord stimulation (SCS)
• Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation, which targets pain pathways for conditions like complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Intrathecal pain pumps