The CDC estimates that over 50 million Americans deal with chronic pain. If you are one of those, you know just how life-inhibiting it can be. You make plans – you can’t do them. You’ve given up hobbies, lost jobs. Interventional pain doctors are dedicated to alleviating your chronic pain using the least invasive techniques possible. Olympia Orthopaedic Associates (OlyOrtho) welcomes Dr. Douglas Hunter, an interventional pain doctor, to their team to help get you back to the life you want to live.
While surgery and oral medications are often the “go tos” for pain management, interventional pain doctors use methods that target the source of the pain to provide long-term relief for patients. These techniques include epidural steroid injections, facet joint injections, radiofrequency ablation, and spinal cord stimulation, to name a few.
New Interventional Pain Doctor in Olympia
Dr. Douglas Hunter joins OlyOrtho’s team of three other interventional pain doctors after completing his Fellowship at the University of California, Davis. He is passionate about what interventional pain management can do for people dealing with chronic pain that cannot be addressed through surgery or oral medications. “I was drawn to interventional pain for the aspect of drastically improving people’s functionality and quality of life,” he shares.
He explains that interventional pain doctors see patients with chronic pain for a variety of reasons, including those with issues that cannot be surgically corrected or are not good surgical candidates. “It isn’t necessarily an alternative to surgery, but more that certain patients would benefit more from pain interventions and certain patients would benefit more from surgery and we help them explore their options,” explains Hunter.
A graduate of University of Nevada, Reno SOM, Hunter is particularly interested in neuromodulation and other minimally invasive pain procedures. Neuromodulation is a technique that alters nerve activity by delivering electrical or chemical agents directly to the targeted nerves.
Joining the OlyOrtho Doctor Team
“I was drawn to OlyOrtho due to the multidisciplinary practice and ability to provide the total palette of options for patients with wide ranging medical problems,” Hunter says.
Having both orthopedic surgeons and interventional pain doctors at OlyOrtho makes for the perfect team. You can explore all the options and, with help from the experts, choose the treatment plan that’s best for you. “I plan on working in conjunction with the surgeons at Oly Ortho to offer any non-surgical options that patients would benefit from to treat a wide variety of musculoskeletal and nervous system diseases,” he adds.
Hunter is excited to work in the community he loves. “I am most looking forward to the patient relationships that I plan to develop,” he shares.
When not working, Dr. Hunter is excited about the endless outdoor adventures in the area. He loves to ski, mountain bike and climb.
If you are living with chronic pain, you have options. Contact OlyOrtho today and meet with doctors who can give you options, assess where you are at and come up with a plan that’s best for you.
Olympia Orthopaedic Associates
3901 Capital Mall Drive SW, Olympia
360.754.7622