Pain Management
Our pain management team led by Dr. Heath McAnally and complemented by providers Katrina White, DTCM, Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM), L.Ac.) and Lennett Petersen Lerch, FNP-BC is OPA’s integrative pain management team.
Our Pain Management Providers
Pain Management Therapies & Procedures
About Pain Management
The developing specialty of pain medicine encompasses many disciplines and approaches. While medicine will always be both art and science, data must guide the treatment of a vulnerable population. We are committed to best practices based on guidelines from the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the North American Spine Society, the American College of Physicians, and other groups with a proven track record of putting patients’ best outcomes first.
Our Approach
Pain is far more than physical sensation, just as people are far more than tissues and electrical impulses. From postural re-education, Vitamin D and radiofrequency ablation, to cognitive-behavioral therapy and prayer, we strive to serve the whole person.
Negative beliefs, attitudes and choices aren’t just detrimental to a person’s well-being (and relationships) – they’re also like gasoline poured on the coals of pain. We want to educate and encourage you to put healthy thoughts and actions into practice, and edify you to a place of self-efficacy in managing, or maybe even overcoming your pain.
Conditions Treated
We offer advice and treatment based on a holistic model. That means we believe that a thorough look at all aspects of a disease is essential for full potential of pain’s resolution.
Common physical health problems that contribute to pain include:
Sleep deprivation and fatigue, sedentary state, nutritional deficiencies, inflammatory states, tobacco and other toxin use, etc.
Common psychological health problems that contribute to pain:
Depression and anxiety, and more and more commonly, post-traumatic stress disorder.
Specific pain syndromes we specialize in helping to treat include:
• Arthritis pain from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, and other conditions
• Back pain
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy)
• Chronic abdominal and pelvic pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Headaches including migraine and cluster headache
• Hip pain
• Knee pain
• Neck pain
• Neuropathic pain from diabetes, shingles, chemotherapy, etc.
• Sciatica
• Shoulder and arm pain
Medical Intervention
Some interventional procedures we perform include:
- Discography
- Epidural Steroid Injections
- Facet Injections and Radiofrequency Ablation for Spinal Arthritis
- Major Joint Injections (e.g., shoulder, sacroiliac, hip, knee)
- Nerve Blocks and Nerve Ablations
- Spinal Cord Stimulator Trials
- Trigger Point Injections
Procedures are performed in-clinic.
Questions?
The OPA team includes Alaska’s leading specialists and offers some of the latest, most advanced treatment procedures available today.
OPA treats a wide variety of conditions and offers comprehensive treatment options — including many non-surgical solutions, minimally invasive arthroscopies (repairs), and total joint replacement.