Pain Management

The Emory Pain Center is part of Emory Healthcare and, as part of an academically-based health system, our pain specialists are also Anesthesiology faculty members at Emory University School of Medicine and involved with research and clinical trials that result in innovations and improved treatments for pain therapy. Our interventional pain specialists are dedicated to finding answers for chronic pain through research, diagnosis, and treatment using the latest therapies and technologies. We approach each case with an individualized diagnosis and treatment plan based on the patient's medical history, life circumstances and specific needs.

Specializing in Opioid Free Pain Relief

Types of Pain We Treat & Services We Offer

Our pain management center provides both outpatient services and inpatient consults (upon request from the patient's physician). Below you'll find a listing of several types of pain and available pain management services offered at Emory Pain Management Center:

Cancer Pain

While most patients experiencing pain from cancer are able to be managed with oral opioids, there is a subset of patients who require such high doses that they experience side effects from these pain-relieving medications. Such patients may be candidates for intrathecal opioids; i.e. opioids delivered directly into the spinal fluid.

Cervical Radicular Pain

There are many reasons for neck and arm pain, including a herniated disc in your neck (cervical spine). The material from the disc may irritate the nerve that leads to your arm and cause pain. You also may experience areas of numbness in your hand and fingers or clumsiness.

Chronic Pain Management

Chronic pain afflicts more than 80 million Americans and is caused by an array of diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions. Defined as continuous pain that lasts for a month or more, chronic pain may continue undiminished for a long period and then abate. It may remain dormant for an extended time or it may return quickly, more severe than it was before.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Complex regional pain syndrome (formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy or RSD) is a chronic pain condition usually affecting the hand or foot. CRPS is often initiated by some kind of trauma. The trauma does not have to be major.

Headache

A headache is a pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The most common types of headache are the "primary headache disorders", which include migraines and tension-type headache.

Herniated Disc/Slipped Disc/Sciatica

A disc herniation describes a disc that has protruded past its usual borders and often presses against and inflamed spinal nerve root causing pain or ‘sciatica’. There are substances within the disc which can create inflammation around the nerve which results in pain down the arm or leg.

Low Back (Lumbar) Pain

There are many sources of pain in the lower back. The lumbar spine, including the lumbar disc, joints, and ligaments are all source of low back pain. In addition, the muscles in the lower back are a source of low back pain, particularly after strenuous activity. Most acute low back pain is musculoskeletal and can be treated with exercise and anti-inflammatory medications.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Myofascial pain syndrome is a condition characterized by chronic pain. It is associated with "trigger points," which can result in extremely painful contractures in the skeletal muscles of the body.

Neck Pain

Neck and shoulder pain is often the result of muscular pain that may be related to posture or stress. Pain that starts in the neck and goes to your shoulders and upper back may come from the facet joints. This pain may get worse when you move your head from side to side or back and forth. There are many treatment options for the wide variety of causes of neck, shoulder and arm pain.

Phantom Limb Syndrome

A phantom limb is a sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body and moving correctly with other parts of the body. Phantom pain sensations are described as sensitivity that an individual experiences relating to a limb that is not physically a part of the body. Limb loss can be a result of either removal by amputation or congenital limb deficiency but in certain cases, it can also be a result of nerve avulsion or spinal cord injury.

Shoulder Pain

The most common cause of shoulder pain and neck pain is due to injury to the surrounding soft tissues. This can be caused by a variety of factors such as broken collarbone, bursitis, broken shoulder blade, rotator cuff injuries and whiplash injuries.

Vascular Pain

Vascular pain is pain that is caused as a result of interruption of blood flow to a tissue, organ or nerves. Common symptoms include tingling, numbness, pain, and heaviness in the areas affected by the lack of vascular supply.

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