About Shihab Ahmed, MBBS

My clinical practice primarily focuses on back and neck pain, neuropathic pain and cancer related pain. I employ both technological advances and my 18 years of experience of pain management practice to provide effective pain relief for chronic pain. The technologies that I focus on include various minimally-invasive spinal injections for back and neck pain, surgically placed indwelling pumps for spinal drug delivery, and neuromodulation therapy with the spinal cord stimulation technique for chronic pain.

The most common cause of disability among younger workers is low back, neck, and upper or lower extremity pain. Minimally invasive, fluoroscopy-guided spinal injections provide pain relief for many of these patients. Further, decreased pain facilitates physiotherapy and improves functionality in patients with common spine disorders.

Spinal cord stimulation is a non-neurodestructive and reversible technique that is extremely helpful in treating refractory neuropathic pain. It has been shown to provide excellent pain relief for patients with persistent pain after back surgery, complex regional pain syndrome and other peripheral neuropathic pain conditions.

I am an investigator at the MGH Center for Translational Pain Research (CTPR). My research focus has been on advanced interventional pain management techniques. At the CTPR, I am currently the principal investigator for five IRB-approved research projects focused on understanding the science behind how spinal cord stimulation therapy reduces pain.

Clinical Interests:

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Locations

Mass General Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
55 Fruit St.
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-3030

Mass General Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
55 Fruit St.
Gray Bigelow Building
Suite 444
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-3030

Center for Pain Medicine at Mass General Waltham
52 Second Ave.
Suite 2100
Waltham, MA 02451
Phone: 781-487-3883

Medical Education

  • MBBS, University of Dhaka - Bangladesh
  • Residency, Brigham and Women's Hospital
  • Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital

American Board Certifications

  • Anesthesiology, American Board of Anesthesiology
  • Pain Medicine, American Board of Anesthesiology

Accepted Insurance Plans

Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.


Research

I am a Clinical Investigator at the MGH Center for Translational Pain Research (CTPR).

Research Areas

  • Mechanisms of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy for refractory pain
  • How pain transitions from acute pain to chronic.
  • Opioid induced hyperalgesia

Description of Research

In 1965 Melzack and Wall proposed that stimulation of large afferent fibers in the dorsal column blocks the transmission of small fibers that carry nociceptive signals at the spinal cord level, also known as the gate control theory. Despite over four decades of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy, few clinical studies have addressed the fundamental issue regarding the mechanistic basis of SCS treatment in chronic pain patients. My research focuses on the effect of SCS on a variety of pain measures related to the mechanism of neuromodulation using quantitative sensory testing (QST). I hope the research will have a direct impact on improving the quality of SCS therapy by suggesting a mechanism-based, individualized patient selection approach.

Publications

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