Dr Gareth Greenslade

I qualified in medicine after studying at Guy's Hospital Medical School in London, My interest in pain medicine grew while I was a doctor in the Royal Navy and it became clear to me that putting people back together was not much use if they were in too much pain to enjoy their lives. I continued with my pain training during my time as a senior anaesthetics trainee in Bristo and the South West.  To improve my interventional skills I attended the interventional course in Budapest, provided by the World Institute of Pain. I also learnt ultrasound-guided injection/block skills in Toronto and Vienna. Nantes, in France, was the centre with the largest number of publications about non-gynaecological pelvic pain, so I spent several weeks there to learn about the management of pudendal neuralgia and other causes of pelvic pain. 

I provide a balanced approach to pain medicine starting with a careful assessment of the patient's pain and the causes of their pain. I also assess the impact of the pain on the person and their loved ones.  Medicines management includes stopping drugs that are not helping and choosing more effective replacements, or supporting people while they reduce their medication. Interventional treatments such as spinal injections, nerve blocks and radio frequency denervation of the nerves to the facet joints in the lumbar and cervical spine can be helpful, but only after assessment and a full explanation of what a treatment entails, the risks and what would happen if we did nothing extra.