Our pain management specialists are experts in designing personalized treatment plans to relieve your pain without medication, whenever possible
Whether you have neck, back, or joint pain, our pain management team offers comprehensive treatment options in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region.
When chronic pain keeps you from participating in daily activities, you don’t have to travel far to find pain management services from the experts at MedStar Health.
With more than 10 locations throughout Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region, we can help you improve your quality of life with less pain using a multimodal approach to pain relief. Our fellowship-trained pain management specialists will design a treatment plan as unique as you are, avoiding opioid medications unless medically necessary.
A customized pain management plan may be right for you if you have chronic pain related to:
- Arthritis
- Back pain
- Cancer pain
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
- Diabetic Neuropathy
- Herniated Discs
- Joint pain
- Migraines
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Neck pain
- Neuralgia
- Sciatica
- Spine pain
Advanced pain management that extends beyond medication
At MedStar Health, you’ll find pain management experts who won’t just write a medication prescription and send you on your way. In fact, once we identify the source of your pain, our first approach to relieving your pain typically involves interventions to manage your pain while limiting the need for opioids. Learn more.
There are many effective and safe ways to minimize your pain, restore function, and improve your quality of life without relying on opioid medications. From cortisol injections to neuromodulation techniques that stop pain signals from traveling to the brain, we’ll develop a treatment plan that uses a variety of techniques to meet your individual needs and goals.
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Neuromodulation Implants
Temporary and permanent devices that send mild electrical pulses to nerves, reducing lower back pain, shoulder pain, post-amputation pain, chronic pain, and more
- Peripheral Nervous System Stimulators, such as the SPRINT PNS System, are a breakthrough technology we use to deliver long-term pain relief with the use of a temporary stimulator. It does not require a permanent implant. Seventy-five percent of patients report significant and sustained pain relief.
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Nerve Blocks
Medication injections around large nerve groups to reduce pain in a specific area of the body, including:
- Celiac plexus blocks to relieve abdominal pain caused by cancer or chronic pancreatitis
- Lumbar sympathetic block to alleviate chronic leg and foot pain caused by reflex sympathetic dystrophy, complex regional pain syndrome, and more
- Occipital nerve blocks to treat headaches and migraines
- Trigeminal nerve blocks to reduce facial pain
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Epidural Steroids Injections
Local anesthetics injected near nerves in the spine to reduce pain and inflammation caused by herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, arthritis, and more. -
Facet Joint Injections
Injections used to diagnose and treat pain in the head, neck, upper and lower back caused by arthritis. -
Intrathecal Pump Implants (Pain Pumps)
Provides potent medications to the source of your pain through a device implanted under the skin. -
Medication Management and Reduction
Different types of medications are used when needed with a goal of minimizing or reducing the use of opioids and other controlled substances. -
Radiofrequency Nerve Ablations
Delivers controlled and precise heat to reduce or stop affected nerves (in the knee, hip, sacroiliac joint, and shoulder, as well as the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine) from sending pain signals to the brain.
- Cooled radiofrequency ablation, such as COOLIEF, offers pain relief for up to 12 months, without requiring an overnight stay, incision, or opioids. On average, 83% of arthritis patients experience relief for severe symptoms.
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Sacroiliac Joint Injections
Injections to the base of the spine that may relieve lower back pain. -
Spinal Cord Stimulation
A small, handheld device is used to stimulate nerves through the spine and reduce pain.
When you see a pain management specialist at MedStar Health, you’ll benefit from...
Easy access to thousands of specialists, 10 hospitals, more than thirty urgent care sites, outpatient clinics, and multi-specialty centers. With one electronic health record (EHR), we stay in close and constant communication with your entire care team so we can work together to deliver the best possible care.
Care from the highest quality of physicians who are all fellowship-trained by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Every one of our pain management specialists has completed additional training beyond medical school, making them highly qualified to treat you with the latest in pain management techniques.
A team approach that involves experts across a variety of specialties including neurology, rehabilitation, surgery, and others. This ensures you receive a holistic and personalized treatment plan that addresses the root of your pain. Many times, you can see multiple specialists on your care team without having to leave the building. Meet our experts.
The latest in pain management techniques leveraging advanced technology to customize and deliver targeted treatment, while reducing the need for medication, when possible. We offer the peripheral nervous system stimulators, such as the SPRINT PNS System, which offers relief without a permanent implant, as well as COOLIEF radiofrequency ablation, which is the first and only FDA-approved radiofrequency treatment for relieving osteoarthritis knee pain.
The advantages of an academic program, which offers access to the most advanced medical technologies, innovative treatments, the latest research, clinical trials, and more. As Georgetown University’s clinical partner, we’re proud to offer balanced education programs that integrate a wide variety of clinical experiences with superior instruction from experts in the field.
"I had a procedure performed at MedStar Health at Timonium by Dr. Khoie. The procedure completely eliminated the pain I had been experiencing in my left leg for over a month. From the consultation meeting to the follow-up visit, Dr. Khoie was engaging and understanding of my circumstances and totally professional! He and the MedStar Health staff are to be commended!"
-Vincent A.
Thomas Cestare, MD
Anesthesiology and Pain Management
Matthew Hansen, MD
Anesthesiology and Pain Management
James S. Houston, MD
Medical Director of Interventional Pain Management
Arash Khoie, MD
Anesthesiology and Pain Management
Malady Kodgi, MD
Phyiscal Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Management
Ali Turabi, MD
Anesthesiology and Pain Management
Ayasha
Williams-Sharron, MD
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Management
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Baltimore City
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
9000 Franklin Square
Dr. Pain Management 2C
Baltimore, MD 21237
Get Directions >>MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
5601 Loch Raven Blvd.
Smyth Bldg., Ste. 403A
Baltimore, MD 21239
Get Directions >>MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
3333 North Calvert St.
Johnston Professional Bldg., Ste. 655
Baltimore, MD 21218
Get Directions >> -
Baltimore County
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Harford County
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Montgomery County
MedStar Health at Leisure World Boulevard
3305 North Leisure World Blvd.
Silver Spring, MD 20906
Get Directions >> -
Prince George's County
MedStar Pain Management at Takoma
6475 New Hampshire Ave.
Ste. 200A
Hyattsville, MD 20783
Get Directions >> -
Washington, D.C.
MedStar Health at Lafayette Centre
1133 21st Street, NW
Bldg. 2, 6th Floor
Washington, DC, 20036
Get Directions >>
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What is chronic pain?
Chronic pain is pain that continue past the usual recovery period for an injury or illness. Chronic pain can also be caused by a chronic condition, such as arthritis, impacting your ability to perform daily activities for months or years. -
How do I know it's time to see a doctor about chronic pain?
If you have persistent pain and it is interfering with your ability to live the life you want, you may benefit from seeing a pain management specialist. Just as other types of injuries and illnesses require the attention of a medical specialist, such as a neurologist or shoulder surgeon, we are specialists who primarily treat chronic pain using the latest techniques and tools to relieve symptoms and improve your quality of life. -
How does interventional pain management help relieve pain?
Interventional pain management specialists identify the source of pain by reviewing your medical history and records, conducting a physical exam, and examining imaging studies, test results, and labs. Then, we develop a treatment plan tailored to your needs, targeting the cause of your pain.
We perform a wide variety of interventional techniques, such as trigger point injections for muscle spasms, occipital nerve blocks and BOTOX® injections for headaches, joint injections for arthritis pain, nerve blocks for arthritic pain originating from the joints of the spine, radiofrequency ablation to lesion nerves involved in pain signaling, epidural steroid injections for pain arising from disc bulges and nerve root impingements, sympathetic nerve blocks, neurolysis to chemically destroy nerves involved in cancer pain, and spinal cord stimulation for post-laminectomy pain.
We continuously research and study to stay updated on the most advanced techniques. Ask your doctor if interventional techniques may help alleviate your pain.
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What are your recommendation concerning opioid therapy?
Unfortunately, evidence suggests that long term chronic opioid therapy is poor in most situations due to well-established side effects, including immunosuppression, endocrine abnormalities, constipation, sedation depression, and worsening pain from opioid-induced hyperalgesia. While we will prescribe opioids in certain situations when clinically necessary—and in combination with other treatment modalities—we extensively evaluate our patients, keep dosages low, and seek other ways to control pain.
We do not recommend opioid therapy for fibromyalgia, headache, self-limited illness, uncomplicated back and neck pain, uncomplicated musculoskeletal pain, or abdominal and pelvic pain. -
Will you refill my opioid prescription?
Our pain management specialists will create individual treatment plans using a variety of techniques to assess and treat your pain. Your plan may include multimodal therapies, diagnostics, and therapeutic procedures, which may or may not involve medication. If medications are included in your plan, they will primarily be non-opioid and non-controlled substances.
We do not prescribe opioids or other controlled substances at your first appointment. We require all new patients to complete a urine drug screening. If you are currently taking opioids, we may make recommendations for you to wean down or off, when appropriate.