Patient Care

Duke’s Unique Vision

Upon the establishment of the Center for Translational Pain Medicine in January of 2016, physician-scientists within the CTPM and Duke Anesthesiology leadership launched Duke Innovative Pain Therapies, a first-of-its-kind, multispecialty practice in Raleigh that opened its doors to patients in September of 2016. With this launch, Duke became one of the few institutions, worldwide, to develop a portal of entry for pain patients to receive diagnosis, treatment and investigation of what causes their conditions. One of the novel features that Duke Anesthesiology has brought forward to this portal of entry is the treatment of orofacial pain, a substantial health issue. Complementing the existing Duke Pain Medicine clinic, this newly-established practice specializes in treating patients with functional pain, orofacial pain and sleep disorders. Dr. Maixner believes with the development of this new practice, Duke has become the first institution to collectively integrate multiple pain conditions while providing treatment avenues, and for the first time, is bringing orofacial pain into the basic fabric of the hospital and health care system.

Services provided at Duke Innovative Pain Therapies:

  • Musculoskeletal/Neuropathic Pain Management
  • Orofacial Pain Management and Sleep Disorders
  • Primary Headache Disorders Management
  • Medical Pain Management
  • Acupuncture and Asian Medicine Pain Therapies
  • Physical Therapy
  • Clinical Psychology for Pain and Stress
  • Clinical Neuroscience-Guided Treatments

The CTPM strives to transform how patients are diagnosed and treated for pain by:

  • Strengthening relationships among existing providers and researchers
  • Identifying gaps in pain management therapies and services
  • Develop an interdisciplinary, evidence-based approach to integrative medicine
  • Evaluating efficacy of new drugs/medical devices
  • Comparing benefits/risks of standard vs. alternative treatments
  • Exploring factors that contribute to the onset of pain
  • Identifying individual characteristics that enable or disable progression from acute to chronic pain