CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Living with chronic pain is a daily battle against an unseen enemy. At Desert Pain Specialists, patients are heard, understood and supported throughout their pain management journey by a team of highly trained and compassionate physicians.

“It’s rewarding when I can help restore or improve someone’s quality of life,” interventional pain management specialist Dr. Spencer Wells said. “Chronic pain changes people, and if I can help relieve pain and get someone back to a better place physically and emotionally – that is fulfilling.”

St. George resident Brooke Baker has been a patient at Desert Pain since 2020. She lives with chronic back pain caused by scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine most often occurring during adolescence. In severe cases, scoliosis can be painful and disabling.

Baker was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 16, and the resulting pain affected her life profoundly over the next seven years. Her condition made participating in almost any form of physical exercise exceedingly difficult. Activities she enjoyed in high school left her in pain for days afterward.

At Desert Pain, Baker has worked with Wells and physician assistant Brian Jorgensen to develop a treatment plan to help manage her chronic pain. She recently underwent radiofrequency ablation, a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that delivers pain relief lasting up to a year.

Radiofrequency ablation reduces pain by destroying nerves in the affected area that send pain signals to the brain. Under X-ray guidance, the physician uses an electrical current from radio waves to heat and burn the nerve tissues.

Baker’s daily pain level has diminished significantly since the procedure, opening up new possibilities for her. In the past, sitting for extended periods of time was excruciating. She can now comfortably take long road trips.

Baker said she feels a renewed sense of confidence in her physical abilities. She has been able to get to the gym and focus on becoming more fit as well as trying new activities.

“The quality of care I’ve received is amazing,” she added. “They really care about me and want to do the best for my care. The advice I would give to someone struggling with chronic pain is to be open to different options, and to know that there is hope and help out there.”

Desert Pain stands at the forefront of treating acute and chronic pain in Southern Utah by offering patients more one-on-one attention from caring physicians and advanced practitioners trained in the latest procedures. Providers are willing to spend as much time with each patient as necessary in order for them to feel comfortable.

“Brooke works hard at multiple careers and needs pain relief to be able to function at those jobs,” Wells said. “She is a very kind patient in spite of her chronic pain, and I’m hopeful that we can offer her long-term relief to allow her to live life to the fullest.”

The specialists at Desert Pain are dedicated to helping patients find relief from a wide range of chronic and acute pain conditions using all available resources, including injections, nerve blocks, regenerative medicine, physical therapy, medications and surgery. Although it isn’t possible to get every patient completely out of pain, many experience significant improvement.

Desert Pain operates a state-of-the-art facility at the Riverfront Medical Center in St. George that allows them to offer unmatched quality of care to their patients. And with satellite locations in Hurricane, Hildale (opening in September), Cedar City, Kanab, Beaver, Panguitch, Delta and Fillmore as well as Mesquite and Overton, Nevada, they’re prepared to serve the needs of the area’s growing population. 

Call 435-216-7000 or visit the Desert Pain website to schedule an appointment today.

Written by ALEXA MORGAN for St. George News.

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Resources

• Desert Pain Specialists | Telephone: 435-216-7000 | Email: [email protected] | Website.
• Locations:
  • St. George: 617 E. Riverside Drive, Suite 301.
  • Hurricane: 48 S. 2500 West, Suite 110.
  • Cedar City: 1760 N. Main St.
  • Beaver: 68 N. Main St.
  • Panguitch: 200 N. 400 East.
  • Kanab: 348 N. 300 West.
  • Delta: 126 White Sage Ave.
  • Fillmore: 65 N. Main St.
  • Mesquite, Nevada: 340 Falcon Ridge Parkway, Suite 600.
  • Overton, Nevada: 475 N. Moapa Valley Blvd.

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