Pain Management in Chattanooga, TN

Summit Spine & Joint Centers’ Chattanooga office, on Gunbarrel Road, is the practice’s flagship Tennessee location, bringing pain management in Chattanooga, TN, to Hamilton County and the Ft. Oglethorpe, Jasper, Lookout Mountain, Ooltewah and Hixson communities nearby. This is Summit Spine’s first market entry into Tennessee, and brand recognition here is still building the way it once did at the practice’s earliest Georgia locations.

Dr. Amit M. Patel and Dr. Smelyansky see patients at the Chattanooga office. Dr. Patel’s connection to the city runs deeper than most: though originally from Georgia, he grew up in Chattanooga before earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of Tennessee, his medical degree from Ross University, and completing a pain medicine fellowship at the University of Michigan. He is double board-certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine, with a particular interest in spinal cord stimulation and radiofrequency denervation.

Most patients here are 40 and older, managing pain that’s built up over time rather than a single injury: arthritis, degenerative disc changes, or nerve pain a primary care visit hasn’t resolved. Insurance and workers’ compensation claims are verified ahead of the first visit, and most new patients are seen within 24 hours of calling.

Conditions

Patients at the Chattanooga office come in with a range of neck, back and joint pain, including:

• Herniated Disc: disc tissue pressing outward against a spinal nerve, often with pain running down an arm or leg.
• Degenerative Disc Disease: the gradual loss of disc height and cushioning that comes with age.
• Lumbar Radiculopathy (Sciatica): nerve pain tracking from the lower back down into the leg or foot.
• Spinal Stenosis: a tightening spinal canal that crowds the nerves running through it.
• Facet Joint Pain: wear in the small joints that let the spine flex and rotate.
• Post-Laminectomy Syndrome (Failed Back Syndrome): pain that persists after a prior spine surgery.
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS): ongoing nerve pain that outlasts the injury that triggered it.
• Fibromyalgia: widespread pain and tenderness without a single clear source.
• Back Pain: pain that hasn’t let up despite rest, medication or physical therapy.

Treatments

The Chattanooga office offers 19 non-surgical treatments, matched to the diagnosis rather than applied as a default:

• Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection: reduces swelling around an irritated nerve in the lower spine.
• Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection: an anti-inflammatory injection aimed at neck-level nerve irritation.
• Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection: steroid guided directly to one affected nerve root.
• Facet Joint Injections: calms swelling in the spine’s small connecting joints.
• Medial Branch Block: confirms which facet joint is causing the pain.
• Sacroiliac Joint Steroid Injection: treats pain at the joint linking the spine and pelvis.
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA): heat used to quiet an overactive pain nerve.
• Lumbar Radiofrequency Neurotomy: a heat-based nerve treatment for the lower back, built to outlast standard RFA.
• Cervical Facet Radiofrequency Neurotomy: the same heat-based nerve treatment used on neck joints instead.
• Rhizotomy: heat applied to disable a painful joint’s nerve supply.
• Genicular Radiofrequency Ablation: for knee pain that hasn’t responded to other treatments.
• Celiac Plexus Block: for pain originating in the abdomen or digestive organs.
• Stellate Ganglion Block: an injection near the neck that treats nerve pain radiating into the face or arms.
• Lumbar Sympathetic Block: an injection series for CRPS-related leg pain.
• Discography: an imaging study that identifies which disc is the actual pain source.
• MILD: an outpatient procedure for spinal stenosis that doesn’t involve an implant.
• Vertiflex Superion: a small spacer implanted to keep the spinal canal open.
• Intrathecal Pump Implant: an implanted pump that releases pain medication in small, steady doses at the spine.
• Back Pain Treatment: a plan built from the options above, based on the diagnosis.

Providers

One provider currently sees patients at the Chattanooga office:

• Dr. Amit M. Patel: double board-certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine, fellowship-trained at the University of Michigan, and a Chattanooga native with a special interest in spinal cord stimulation and radiofrequency denervation.
• Dr. Smelyansky: provides pain management care at Summit Spine’s Chattanooga office.

Full bio is below.