Intensive Program

Unfortunately, sometimes pain does not respond to the traditional medical treatments for relief.  Integrated Pain Care offers more intensive programs for patients who have had their lives disrupted due to ongoing pain. 

The Early Intervention Program helps patients who have been injured within the past year and have not had success with traditional physical therapy.  This program entails working closely with a physical therapist and learning pain management strategies in order to return to a higher level of function.  It is an ideal program for patients who are eager to return to work.

The Functional Restoration Program is for patients suffering from chronic pain for over one year.  Chronic pain is generally more complex than simply living with constant physical pain.  Changes in finances, mood, sleep, and relationships are nearly inevitable. The treatment approach of the Functional Restoration Program recognizes and treats the multitude of factors involved in chronic pain and has been shown in research to be effective.

The Functional Restoration Program includes working closely with a physical therapist specialized in the unique needs of chronic pain patients.  Physical goals include improved strength and function and learning how to ward off and manage flares of pain.   Classes in health and lifestyle education are provided by a psychologist knowledgeable in chronic pain.  The program also focuses on helping people to be more aware of mind-body connections that can help to better control pain.

Integrated Pain Care also offers a Medication Transition and Detoxification Program for patients who would like to transition off of opiate medications.  These medications can become increasingly less effective for pain management over time and the side effects may become unbearable.  A medically-supervised medication detoxification program may be combined with the functional restoration program.

Integrated Pain Care understands that successful patient outcomes in these intensive  programs are a combination of competent, caring, and experienced providers and patients who are ready for change.  Our experienced team of providers has been carefully selected in order to give our patients the best care possible. 

THE INTEGRATED PAIN CARE TEAM FOR INTENSIVE PROGRAMS

	Gary Martinovsky, MD Dr. Martinovsky earned his Bachelors degree at the University of California, Berkeley.  He was trained in Anesthesiology at Stanford and completed a fellowship in Pain Medicine at the University of California, Davis.  He founded Integrated Pain Care in 2005 with offices in San Francisco and Richmond.  He has devoted his career to helping patients find relief from pain.  In 2013 he expanded his Richmond clinic’s services to include more intensive programs for patients who were not finding adequate relief from traditional medical care.
	Greg Garavanian, Psy.D. Greg Garavanian, Psy.D. earned his Bachelors of Arts in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  He earned his Doctorate of Psychology from Alliant University in 2000.  He has spent his career working closely with medical professionals to bridge the gap between body and mind.  He has worked in multidisciplinary pain clinics since 2004.  He was the Director of Behavioral Medicine and chief psychologist overseeing a functional restoration program in two different Bay Area clinics prior to joining Integrated Pain Care.  He has a private practice in San Francisco and Belmont.  He is also a Qualified Medical Examiner in the Workers Compensation System.  He is a founding member and the treasurer of the Northern California Association of Pain Psychologists (NCAPP).
	Charisse Balance, DPT Charisse Balance, DPT earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Psychology from the University of California, Davis . She received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Azusa Pacific University.  Dr. Balance has dedicated her career to helping patients living with chronic pain.  She has extensive experience in individual treatment, work conditioning, work hardening, and functional restoration.  Working in a multidisciplinary chronic pain setting has been an ideal fit for Dr. Balance because she is not limited by traditional approaches. Instead, she has adopted a more comprehensive treatment approach that has helped individuals regain a sense of control over their bodies after living with chronic pain. She enjoys working with each patient and creating a specialized plan to aid them in returning to a more normalized lifestyle.