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Fall 2003 Finding The Root of The PainDr. Paul W. Davies always knew he wanted to help people, but just how did not become clear until he was 20 years old sitting in a pub in England with his pastor on Christmas Eve. Paul was well on his way to a law degree. “I felt frustrated by law school,” he said. “I wanted to help people more directly.” But few people that far into their education decide instead to go into the medical profession, especially those with as little scientific education as Paul Davies.
Today, he is a far cry from the British dirt-bike-riding-law student. Davies now ranks as one of the few fellowship-trained pain specialists in the country and is the new director of Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Pain Management Program. He earned his medical degree from the University of Manchester, England and has done residencies at the University of Pittsburgh, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and Western Pennsylvania Hospital. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “I learned that simple changes in a person’s medicine could change a person’s quality of life even if we couldn’t cure the disease,” he said. “For instance, a woman came to us who had been living with headaches for years. We gave her some injections and she said it was the best she’d ever felt.” Another patient who loved to dance had been sidelined by excruciating pain for more than a year. A few injections over three months and her feet were tapping again. “Our patients love us,” said Dr. Davies. “We’re treating the painful symptoms that patients go to the hospital for, when the underlying disease cannot be treated or the cause of their pain cannot be identified. Patients come to us when no one else has been able to help them and we diagnose the cause of the pain.” As director, Dr. Davies will oversee the development of chronic and cancer pain management and supervise acute pain management. He also will assist AAMC’s Wellness and Community Outreach Programs. “AAMC has a good pain management program,” Dr. Davies said. “I would like to help turn it into the best pain management program possible, offering a broad spectrum of therapies ranging from the latest technological advancements such as spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal pumps to various forms of integrative therapies such as massage, acupuncture, guided imagery and Reiki.” “AAMC’s goal is to be at the forefront of pain management, and I’m excited to be an integral part of that,” he said. Patients should consider asking their primary care physician to refer them to AAMC’s Pain Management Program for chronic pain or cancer pain problems. Dr. Davies and the Pain Manage-ment Program staff at Anne Arundel Medical Center are skilled in diagnosing pain syndromes and using the latest interventional techniques to treat disorders such as lower back pain, extremity pain, chest/abdominal wall pain, pelvic pain, cancer pain, headaches and others. When not building AAMC’s new Pain Management Program, Dr. Davies is making a name for himself in other ways such as research, teaching and lecturing at national conferences and publishing articles on pain management issues. In his down time, he can often be found outdoors exploring the Chesapeake Bay. His many years in Maryland have given him passion for preserving the Chesapeake Bay to the point where he now serves as the education officer for a yacht club. Dr. Davies’ office is located in the Donner Pavilion. Talk with your primary care physician about a referral or call 800-99-PAIN-0 (800-997-2460), or askAAMC at 443-481-4000 or |
“My abstract argument was that I always loved to work on cars and engines,” he said. “I also raced dirt bikes when I was younger and worked on them as well. In fact, it was from all of my injuries racing bikes that I came to appreciate the hospital.”
