Chronic pain affects an estimated 86 million American adults to some degree. Which explains why pain management continues to grow as a specialty area in the field of medicine.
Pain management (also known as pain medicine or algiatry), employs an interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with pain.
Medicine treats injury and pathology to support and speed healing; and treats distressing symptoms such as pain to relieve suffering during treatment and healing. However, when a painful injury or pathology is resistant to treatment and persists, when pain persists after the injury or pathology has healed, it may be wise to seek treatment from a pain management specialist, The role of the pain management physician is to help identify the underlying cause of the pain, and when options for cure are not available, to reduce the devastating impact that chronic pain can have on one’s life.
At K and B Surgical Center, our approach to pain management is to provide state-of-the-art, individualized care that addresses the particular needs of each patient — through evaluation and treatment that draw on all the resources available to us.
Meet our Pain Management Expert
Dr. Natalie Strand, M.D.
Dr. Strand is an interventional pain management physician who takes a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to patient care. In addition to her duties at the K and B
Surgical Center, she is currently an Assistant Professor in Clinical Anesthesiology, and a practicing physician of interventional pain management at the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
Her interest in medicine began at age 12 when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Through compassion and humor, the doctors and nurses who cared for her helped her understand the disease and provided a path to wellness that not only inspired her to become a doctor but also made her realize the importance of the personal touch in caring for patients.
Dr. Strand completed her medical training at Mayo Clinic and also did an internship and fellowship there. She then completed her residency at UCLA. A motivational speaker, fund raiser and expert medical commentator for television and radio, she gained national attention as the inspirational half of the winning team on season 17 of the CBS series The Amazing Race, where she competed by travelling over 32,000 miles across 4 continents in 3 weeks — while managing her diabetes. ‘Dr. Nat’ continues to inspire millions of people as a dLife Patient Champion, spokesperson, and contributor, by connecting with the diabetes community across dLife’s multi-channel media platform and providing practical insights on coping with the daily realities of diabetes. Dr. Strand works extensively with the JDRF to promote an active lifestyle to those living with diabetes.
