Farshad M. Ahadian, MD

Farshad M. Ahadian, MD, is a board-certified anesthesiologist who specializes in pain management. As a pain management specialist, he evaluates, diagnoses and provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for a broad range of pain conditions.

His areas of expertise and interest include minimally invasive treatments for neurogenic claudication from lumbar spinal stenosis and lumbar discogenic pain; neurostimulation (including spinal cord and peripheral nerve field stimulation); interventional therapies for the head and neck region; spinal diagnostics and therapeutics; diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for joint pain; integrative medicine and medical acupuncture.

Since 2006, Dr. Ahadian has been medical director of UC San Diego Health's Center for Pain Medicine, which is dedicated to reducing and eliminating suffering, and improving function in individuals with lower-back or other spine-related pain issues, joint and muscular-skeletal pain or pain due to surgery, injury, nerve damage, psychological factors and metabolic problems such as diabetes.

In part because of his medical leadership, the Center for Pain Medicine was named a Clinical Center of Excellence in Pain Management in 2010 and 2014 by the American Pain Society. The award recognizes pain care teams that "provide outstanding exemplary care."

Dr. Ahadian is a professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, where he is active in clinical research, and the training and education of fellows, residents and medical students. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to the field of radiofrequency neurotomy.

Dr. Ahadian completed sub-specialty fellowship training in pain management at Stanford University and medical acupuncture training at University of California Los Angeles. He completed residency training in anesthesia at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio and earned his medical degree at St. Louis University School of Medicine. He is board certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine and interventional pain management. He is a fellow of interventional pain practice. Dr. Ahadian is also board certified in medical acupuncture.

Dr. Ahadian is consistently elected as a top doctor in the annual San Diego Magazine "Physicians of Exceptional Excellence" survey. He is the director-at-large of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) and frequently speaks at the AAPM's annual meeting.

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For more information, see Pain Management.