We should be straight about pain management for Chesterfield patients: Padda Institute does not have an office in Chesterfield. Our offices are at 4477 Woodson in St. Louis and 12174 Natural Bridge Rd. If a Chesterfield address matters most to you, another practice may suit you better. That is a fair thing to want.
What we do have is a real tie to the area. Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP is on staff at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton. That hospital serves Chesterfield and the nearby west and southwest county towns.
The Woodson office is about eighteen miles from central Chesterfield. Page Avenue east to I-170 north is usually quickest. When Page is jammed, take I-64 to I-270 north. It is a real drive, and we will be honest about that.
The most common reason patients come to us from west county: injections were tried and did not help. People usually take that to mean “injections do not work for me.” More often it is an aiming problem. The difference matters, because the two lead to very different next steps.
There are four common reasons, and each one can be told apart:
Sorting out which one applies to you is the heart of a second opinion. It is also why we start with diagnostic blocks instead of jumping straight to treatment.
Because of the distance, we try to squeeze the steps together. When a test procedure is clearly needed and you want to go ahead, we can often do it the same day as the consultation. That saves a second visit.
To make that work, bring any imaging you have. Bring the discs or a patient portal login, not just the report. Bring a list of what you take now. Bring a short account of what has been tried and what each try did. If an earlier shot helped for a short time, that helps the diagnosis. Think back on it before you come.
Only if it changes something. Ask on the phone what would be done differently. If the answer is “the same injection again,” it is not worth the trip.
For what should change at a second opinion after failed treatment, read Which Pain Specialist Should You See When Treatment Has Not Helped?
Yes. We talk to them instead of working in parallel. Notes go back to whoever referred you or shares your care.
Dr. Padda is on staff at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton. If you need a hospital, you are not handed to a doctor who has never met you.
Most major plans and Medicare. We verify benefits before anything is scheduled. You are told your expected share ahead of time.
No. Our two offices are in St. Louis. The Woodson office is about eighteen miles from central Chesterfield. Page Avenue east to I-170 north is usually quickest. Dr. Padda is on staff at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, which serves Chesterfield and the nearby west and southwest county towns. So hospital care stays with the same doctor.
Yes. Wanting off opioids is one reason patients drive in from west county. Dr. Padda is board certified in addiction medicine. A taper here is run by someone qualified to handle what happens during it. That work goes hand in hand with finding the real source of your pain. We start with a diagnostic block, not a guess.
After pain goes on long enough, the nervous system itself can get oversensitive. It turns up pain signals far beyond any tissue damage that is left. Injecting the first spot will not fix pain that has moved upstream. It needs a whole different approach, sometimes including ketamine for established central sensitization. It is one of four reasons an earlier shot may have failed.
Call us or request an appointment. Credentials are listed in full on our pain management doctors page.
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Same-day and emergency appointments are available.