Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to introduce you to Precision Pain Care (PPC) as a referral resource for your patients, those who are experiencing acute or chronic pain, and who may require surgery or pain advice from a qualified interventional pain management (IPM) physician.

Physician partners are a vital link in patient care. My priority in working with referring physicians is to…

  • -Ensure your patients receive the highest level of subspecialized IPM care, delivered by a skilled, board-certified and fellowship-trained pain management physician.
  • Attend to your patients in a compassionate, timely manner.
  • Communicate effectively with you and your staff to provide quality coordinated care for your patients.
  • Make it easier for your patients and/or your office staff to request an appointment with online tools.

Dedicated to precisely and accurately pinpointing the root cause of each patient’s pain, PPC provides relief through a variety of minimally invasive treatments that deliver treatment directly to the source of pain.

PPC provides a range of minimally invasive pain management services using the best modern technology has to offer. My practice offers over twenty different treatments including facet injections, implantable drug delivery systems, nerve blocks, neuroaugmentation, and radiofrequency rhizotomy.

We are a small, highly specialized practice, offering patients personal service and continuity of care from one visit to the next. Our targeted, personal approach sets us apart from large, impersonal pain management centers.

Click here to read my complete biography. Highlights include:

  • Board-certified in anesthesiology and pain management
  • Formerly a practicing anesthesiologist and assistant professor of anesthesiology at Tufts/New England Medical Center, Boston
  • Medical degree from Rush Medical College, Chicago
  • Internship at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago
  • Anesthesiology residency at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City
  • Pain management fellowship from the University of Cincinnati
  • Past President of the Tennessee Chapter of Interventional Pain Physicians
  • Physician Instructor for the Spine Intervention Society

Thank you for your time and interest, and for considering PPC as an interventional pain management referral resource for your patients.

Feel free to contact us at 615-223-6200 with questions or feedback, or to request information about specific advances in interventional pain management practices that may benefit your patients.

Sincerely,

Middle Tennessee’s Premier Spine and Pain Surgery Center.

Founded by Dr. Graf Hilgenhurst, Spine and Pain Physicians Surgery Center provides minimally invasive procedures to relieve spine and pain discomfort associated with disc herniations, sciatica, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, compression fractures, and other painful conditions.

What Do Most Patients Want to Know About Interventional Pain Management?

Interventional pain management is a department of pain management that specializes in an array of pain blocking techniques often in the form of injection therapies.

An interventional pain anesthesiologist should be double board certified in both anesthesiology and pain management. This type of physician can treat all levels of pain through minimally invasive techniques such as injection therapy, radiofrequency ablation or spinal cord stimulation.

Interventional pain anesthesiologists provide treatments such as epidural steroid injections, nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulation, facet joint injections, lumbar sympathetic plexus blocks, and trigger joint injections. All procedures are done on an outpatient basis.

When pain interferes with your daily routine and cannot be managed through conservative therapies, you may seek the advice of an interventional pain management specialist to determine if you are a good candidate for these therapies.

To determine if you are a suitable candidate for interventional pain management treatment, your physician will administer a series of assessments including diagnostic and imaging tests, a review of your medical history, and a physical exam.

Interventional pain management specialists use a multidisciplinary approach to pain management. Your interventional pain management specialist will work in close association with your primary care physician and any other medical field that could integrate with your new treatment plan.

Interventional pain management is different from other pain management practices because it emphasizes the importance of a precise diagnosis so treatment can begin immediately. Rather than just prescribing medication or only recommending physical therapy, an interventional pain management specialist utilizes all sources of treatment to eliminate pain in the fastest and most effective way possible for each individual patient.

An interventional pain management specialist can help patients with any level of pain, regardless of how long they’ve been suffering with it.

Interventional pain management treatment utilizes therapeutic approaches to alleviate pain without the use of prescriptions. The majority of pain sufferers will have pain relief by multidisciplinary approaches. However, some patients will have better results with the use of prescribed medications.

In most cases, your doctor will recommend a discontinuation on your current medications before undergoing a procedure. Please consult with your interventional pain management specialist to determine which medications you should not take. Medicines such as Courmadin, Plavix, Pradaxa, and Ticlid should all be ceased before a pain procedure.

No. In fact, some interventional pain management treatments manage diabetes’ symptoms. Your doctor can determine if treatment will be safe and effective based off the patient’s initial exam.

Interventional pain management specialists treat symptoms closely related to chronic pain. These can range from discomfort, difficulty sleeping, soreness, and tightness, to burning, aching, or electrical feelings. Treatments can help relieve pain related to Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, neuropathy, headaches, bone pain, back pain, and muscle pain.

Yes. Fibromyalgia symptoms can be managed with interventional pain therapies.

Acute pain is typically the result of an injury, illness, or surgery. In most cases, acute pain can be relieved in less than six months. Chronic pain is persistent pain that lasts longer than six months even after an injury has been healed. One in five adults are living with what they describe as chronic pain.

Before any procedure, your doctor will go over the risks of surgery or injection and the guidelines that every patient should follow. Patients will know what they can and cannot do prior to their surgery or injection, and what will happen once they have received treatment.

If you have received a sedative for your procedure, you are required to have someone available to drive you home afterwards. We recommend that a patient who has received an interventional pain management treatment take it easy following their procedure. The patient can then determine what their limitations are for getting involved with certain activities.

Yes, they are successful for most patients. Some patients will have post-procedural pain where they have received treatment. However, that pain often quickly resolves. Based on the severity of your pain, further treatments may be required for effective results and significant pain reduction.