About the Division

The Division of Neuropathic Pain is a center specializing in treatment of patients with severe facial pain who haven’t responded to traditional treatments. While we also treat neck, back and other types of chronic pain, our primary focus is treating facial pain that results from a variety of conditions, including cancer and other diseases, trauma, stroke and even dental issues. We’re one of just a few centers in the United States to concentrate on this type of pain. Conditions we treat include:

• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Glossopharyngeal neuralgia
• Atypical facial pain
• Sphenopalatine neuralgia
• Neuropathy-related pain
• Sympathetically mediated pain of the face
• Nervus intermedius neuralgia
• Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• Myelopathy-related pain
• Recurrent hernia pain
• Other types of pain such as failed back surgery syndrome, low back pain, neck pain and leg pain

The Division attracts patients from all over the country with approximately 2,000 patient visits a year. We offer personalized care for every patient, beginning with the least-invasive regimens, such as the use of the medications Baclofen and Botox, working up to more complex therapies, such as spinal cord stimulation and peripheral field stimulation.

We take a multidisciplinary approach to helping patients. To create an effective plan, the team may include neurologists and pain psychologists; physical, occupational and speech-language therapists; radiologists; chiropractors and acupuncturists; and aqua therapy specialists. We also offer other treatment modalities along with our partners from plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery.

Goals and highlights

We aspire to become a center of excellence for neuropathic facial pain and capitalize on our growing national reputation. Additionally, we hope to create a neuropathic pain concentration track for neurology residents and fellows. Most importantly, our overall goals are to find safe, effective treatments to end chronic pain and to improve the availability and access of such care for all patients.

Centers and clinics

We work closely with the following centers and departments:

• Center for Abdominal Core Health
• Department of Facial and Reconstructive Surgery
• Department of Neurosurgery

Programs and services

• Infusion Program for Facial Pain
• Multidisciplinary approach to recurrent hernia surgeries

Residency and Fellowship

The Department of Neurology at the Ohio State University has a long history of a dedicated commitment to education. We have world-class faculty and staff, state-of-the-art amenities, and novel technologies, all of which enables trainees to gain experience in the management of complex pathologies and apply innovative and high-quality medical care for a diverse patient population. Learn more about our residency and fellowship programs.