Interventional Pain Management Program

Interventional Pain Management at UVM Health

When common pain relief methods such as pills, creams and physical therapy can't control your pain, interventional pain management may help. Our board-certified interventional pain management specialists use minimally invasive therapies to block the source of your pain and get you lasting relief.

Anchored by an academic medical center, our providers have access to the latest treatments for acute and chronic pain. We help you manage your pain so you can return to the activities you enjoy.

As one of the leading interventional pain management providers in the region, we offer:

Caring professionals: Our doctors listen to you carefully to understand your needs and goals. You receive world-class care with a compassionate touch.
Team approach to care: We draw on the expertise of specialists throughout University of Vermont Health for your care. Combining approaches from different disciplines such as orthopedics, oncology and rheumatology ensures you receive comprehensive, personalized treatment that works.
Leading-edge care for chronic pain: Our diagnostic and treatment techniques are backed by advanced technology. Leading-edge ultrasound techniques and specialized X-rays help our doctors identify the exact location to treat for pain relief.

Conditions We Treat

We help patients manage chronic pain from conditions such as:

We also help people with acute and chronic:

What to Expect from Interventional Pain Management

Your provider will complete a comprehensive evaluation to understand your pain. You’ll have a thorough physical examination and answer questions about your medical history, including pain therapies you've tried in the past.

We collaborate with your referring physician and specialists to create your individualized treatment plan. Depending on the type and source of pain, your plan may include one or more of the following:

Pain Treatments

Our board-certified interventional pain doctors use the latest minimally invasive methods for treating pain, including:

Injections: Your doctor injects medicine directly into the affected area to numb it, increase lubrication or reduce swelling. Injection types include epidural steroid injections, joint injections and trigger-point injections.
Nerve blocks: Medication injected around the nerve prevents it from sending pain messages to the brain. Nerve blocks can also decrease inflammation in a nerve, allowing it to heal.
Radiofrequency neurolysis (ablation): Your doctor sends radio waves to the nerve through a needle. The heat from the radio waves desensitizes (turns off) the nerve so it can't send pain signals.
Peripheral nerve stimulation: In this minimally invasive surgery, your doctor inserts a small electrical device near a peripheral nerve (any nerve beyond the brain and spinal cord). The device delivers a mild electrical current that blocks the nerve from sending pain messages to the brain.
Spinal cord stimulation: Similar to peripheral nerve stimulation, your doctor implants a small electrical stimulator near the spine. Mild electrical pulses interfere with pain signals as they go to the brain.

Diagnostic Injections

Your primary care or referring doctor may send you to our clinic to help determine the cause of your pain. With a diagnostic injection, your interventional pain doctor injects a small amount of numbing medicine into a suspected pain source. If the shot relieves the pain, we know that area is a pain generator that needs treatment.

Medication Recommendations

Your interventional pain doctor does not prescribe long-term pain medications. However, they can advise your primary care or referring physician on your medication plan.