Pain Management

We specialize in successfully diagnosing and treating all types of chronic and acute pain - from headaches to joint pain to nerve disorders - allowing our patients to regain their independence and quality of life.

Together our experts—fellowship trained physicians in pain management and anesthesiology, and a board certified physician in electrodiagnostic medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation—offer the most innovative and effective treatments in use today

Unlike many programs which focus exclusively on medications, our pain medicine physicians provide the entire spectrum of care, from non-invasive options - such as customized physical therapy and nerve blocks - to the newest minimally invasive interventions.

Conditions & Treatments

We successfully treat a wide range of conditions, including:

Back and neck pain, including pain from compression fractures, herniated discs and unsuccessful surgeries
Headaches
Muscle and joint pain, including arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and fibromyalgia
Nerve pain caused by shingles, diabetes or chemotherapy
Nervous system disorders
Pain associated with cancer
Spasticity management for stroke, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis
Traumatic injuries
Work or sports-related injuries

From innovative physical rehabilitation and biofeedback to the newest minimally invasive procedures, our pain specialists offer today’s most advanced pain management strategies, including:

Shoulder and knee injections, and fluoroscopic-guided hip joint injections
Used to diagnose as well as relieve shoulder, hip and knee pain, these injections contain anesthetic agents - alone or combined with steroids - to reduce inflammation and provide long term pain relief.

Implantable drug delivery
A pump implanted in the abdomen releases pain-relieving and spasticity reducing agents into the spinal cord fluid. Smaller doses of medicine are delivered at regular intervals, reducing side effects and improving pain control.

Intradiscal electrothermal therapy
A tiny catheter is inserted into a herniated or torn spinal disc and heated, reducing any tear or bulge as well as eliminating pain receptors within the disc.

Nerve blocks
Local anesthetics and steroids are injected near specific nerves in the spinal column or peripheral sites, preventing them from relaying pain signals to the brain.

Radiofrequency ablation
A specialized needle is inserted near a nerve and heated, rendering the nerve incapable of transmitting pain.

Spinal cord and peripheral cord stimulators
A small wire is inserted in the epidural space above the spinal cord or next to the peripheral nerve, and low-level electrical impulses are used to interrupt the transmission of pain signals.

Vertebroplasty
Acrylic bone cement is injected through a small needle to stabilize or “cast” compression fractures of the spine, eliminating the source of pain.

Non-invasive treatments
Many patients benefit from a combination of pain-relieving medications and advanced physical rehabilitation, including customized physical therapy and innovative exercise protocols. Techniques that combine aspects of Eastern medicine with traditional Western approaches can also be helpful.

Specialized Services

Finding the Problem

Chronic pain is often difficult to diagnosis and treat, making our success at finding answers - even in the most complicated cases - unique. In addition to a full range of advanced imaging options, we offer electrodiagnostic studies to further evaluate nerve and muscle function. EMG and nerve conduction studies allow our board certified experts in electrodiagnostic medicine to accurately diagnosis movement or nerve disorders as well as carpal tunnel and other entrapment neuropathies. For more information call Dr. Fralick at (714) 446-5200.

Our Experts

Jerry Fralick, M.D.
William Ko, M.D.
Arthur Zepeda, M.D.