Introduction

Department of Pain Medicine of Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital stands as an excellent medical center within the institution. Established in 1988 under the leadership of Professor Xu Huifang, it has evolved into one of the most outstanding pain management centers in China. To date, the department provides medical care for 60,000 outpatients annually, addressing both acute and chronic pain conditions. Additionally, it serves as a postgraduate education station in pain medicine and has secured numerous grants supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Specialties

1. Neuropathic pain: We provide care for herpes zoster neuralgia and postherpetic neuralgia, diabetic peripheral neuralgia, post-amputation phantom limb pain and stump pain, intractable upper limb pain after brachial plexus nerve trauma, failed back surgery syndrome, and complex regional pain syndrome. Therapies for these pain conditions are neuromodulation, nerve ablation and medicine.
2. Cervical and lumbar intervertebral disc disorders: We carry out interventional therapy such as epidural steroid injection or selective nerve root injection to reduce nerve root inflammation, decompress intravertebral discs to relieve pain resulting from cervical and lumbar intervertebral disc herniation.
3. Limb pain resulted from autonomic nerve functional disturbance: Neuromodulation or nerve blocks can be performed for limb pain caused by disorders in the autonomic nerve. 
4. Cancer pain: A multidisciplinary team (MDT) has been established for cancer pain management. Patients are guided in the standardized use of various analgesics to relieve pain while minimizing adverse effects. Neurotomy procedures or intrathecal pump implantation could be offered for some cases of intractable pain.
5. Others: Combined with physical therapies, Joints injection with steroid, sodium hyaluronate or platelet-rich plasma can be utilized to alleviate pain caused by degeneration and retrogression Additionally, local injections guided by ultrasound can help alleviate pain and stiffness in lateral epicondylitis (commonly known as "tennis elbow") and tenosynovitis.