Pain Medicine

Constant pain can impact every facet of your life. In addition to physical symptoms, you may experience challenges with your mental health, relationships and daily responsibilities. The pain management doctors at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health can help you get relief. We offer a broad range of nonopioid pain medicine services that quiet the pain so you can live your life.

You receive services from a team of specialists who diagnose and treat many types of pain. Doctors specializing in pain medicine guide your treatment and work with other specialists to ensure a seamless experience. 

Highlights of our program include: 

• Personalized treatments: We pinpoint the source of your symptoms and develop a personalized plan that helps you achieve your treatment goals. The plan may include one or more of our pain management services.

• Seamless care for back and neck pain: Pain medicine doctors work closely with physical medicine doctors (physiatrists) and spine surgeons. We meet regularly to determine whether people with stubborn pain might benefit from a procedure, surgery or nonsurgical options. Get more information about our spine care program.

• Other coordinated services: We arrange therapies for other types of pain, including discomfort due to medical issues and nerve pain. In some locations, you can see pain management doctors and physical therapists in a single visit. Our extended team also includes sleep medicine specialists, neurosurgeons, psychologists and pharmacists.  

• Leadership: Our experts have been training the next generation of pain management doctors for more than two decades. Only centers like ours that treat a high volume of patients and use the latest research-based methods maintain this honor. Find out more about our accredited pain medicine fellowship. 

When you have severe pain, you may think that opioids are the only path to relief. But there are better options that are non-habit-forming. Experts at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health use methods that are safer and gentler on your body to reduce pain and improve function. 

We offer a broad range of options, including: 

• Interventional procedures: We offer in-office image-guided procedures, like steroid injections and nerve blocks. Learn more about interventional pain management services. 
• Physical therapy: Experienced therapists guide you through exercises to loosen stiff muscles and strengthen specific areas. 
• Integrative medicine services: You may benefit from mind-body techniques, acupuncture, massage therapy and other integrative medicine services.
• Pain psychology: We help you gain control over the psychological and behavioral aspects of chronic pain. You learn about relaxation techniques and other approaches for reducing symptoms. 
• Palliative care: If you have a serious illness that causes chronic pain, palliative care providers can address the pain and help you live more comfortably.
• Consultations: These services are for patients undergoing medication regimens not prescribed by pain management doctors. We perform periodic assessments to ensure pain medications are medically appropriate.

Types of pain we frequently treat include: 

• Back or neck pain due to a herniated disc, pinched nerve or spinal stenosis
• Episodic pain due to accidents, recent surgery, infection or sports injuries
• Joint pain, including arthritis of the knees, hips, shoulders or elbows
• Nerve pain (peripheral neuropathy)

Other types of pain we treat are:

• Cancer pain, which may be due to tumors pressing on joints, bones, nerves or organs
• Chronic abdominal pain from conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease
• Complex regional pain syndrome, chronic pain typically affecting the extremities
• Diffuse pain syndromes like fibromyalgia that impact multiple body areas at once
• Headache disorders like migraine and trigeminal neuralgia
• Spasticity, unusually tight muscles due to cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injuries

Our specialists care for patients across the Puget Sound area and beyond.