Pain medicine

Pain Management and Neuromodulation Centre at St Thomas’ Hospital is internationally renowned as a centre of clinical and academic excellence. We treat all types of pain, including back, facial, limb, musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain.

We treat all types of pain

Our consultants work together to understand how pain is impacting the lives of patients to develop the best treatment plan. We assess and treat:

• chronic (long-term) pain, including back, digit (trigger finger), limb, musculoskeletal and pelvic pain
• facial pain, including trigeminal neuralgia
• headaches, including migraines and cluster headaches
• neuropathic (nerve) pain, including sciatica
• pain following surgery

With our combined expertise in musculoskeletal physiotherapy at St Thomas’, we can provide a joined-up approach to care.

Specialist treatments for pain

We offer a range of pain treatments, from routine steroid injections to specialist neuromodulation procedures.

Pioneers in spinal cord stimulation

Our experts at St Thomas’ were the first to develop spinal cord stimulation. It is used to effectively manage a variety of chronic pain types, including back, neck, arm, and pelvic pain.

A minimally invasive procedure is used to implant electrodes into the spine along with a battery-powered generator device that delivers small electrical currents to the spinal cord. Pain is managed by the patient using a remote to control the level of stimulation as needed.

St Thomas’ is just 1 of 5 centres in the UK that offers spinal cord stimulation, with our experts performing over 200 procedures each year.

Ultrasound-guided steroid injections

We offer ultrasound-guided steroid injections for precise and effective pain relief. We use corticosteroids such as triamcinolone and methylprednisolone to treat conditions such as joint inflammation, tendonitis, bursitis and nerve impingements.

Care led by research

Our pain specialists have a strong focus on innovation in care and lead the way in research aimed at improving our understanding of chronic pain conditions.

Our clinical research programmes focus on:

• investigating new innovations
• advancing current treatments
• improving the quality of life of patients with chronic pain

Our current research work includes national and international clinical studies in areas such as:

• neuromodulation
• endoscopic pain relief interventions
• novel pain medications
• pain management strategies