Jess D. Salinas, MD

About

Dr. Jess Salinas has personal experience with pain. After playing various contact sports throughout his adolescence, he sustained injuries that he feels more and more as he gets older.

His worst was suffering from a herniated disc in his late 20s that was debilitating prompting treatment which resolved his symptoms.

“Through this eye opening experience, I wanted to be a physician that can treat people with pain and be able to make people as functional as possible so they can at least do their daily activities with comfort or help them get back to be able to do their hobbies or sport of choice. As an interventional pain physician, I can help achieve this through minimally invasive techniques with a small use of oral medications.”

For 15 years, Dr. Salinas has brought his vast experience in the pain management field to the National Pain Institute serving as their medical director. He specializes in outpatient pain management and rehabilitation services.

“As a physician, I take much pride and energy to be able to do the best I can to make my patients better,” he said. “I have treated thousands of patients over the years and I find tremendous joy and satisfaction when my patients are now able to walk and be able to get their mail or go to the bathroom without using their walker. (It is great) being able to help people go back to work or being able to get people to play golf again or their hobby of choice.”

Dr. Salinas is a graduate of the University of North Florida earning a bachelor’s degree in science. He completed his Doctor of Medicine at Fatima College of Medicine in the Philippines.

The Illinois-based Loyola University Medical Center served as the site for both his internship in internal medicine and residency focusing on physical medicine and rehabilitation. He completed a fellowship in interventional pain management at Adirondack Interventional Physiatry/Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in New York.

As an interventional pain physician, his expertise is focused on using various injection techniques to get pain under control including radiofrequency ablation and injections in various locations. He also incorporates other minimally invasive treatments such as spinal cord stimulation and intrathecal pain pump therapy along with regenerative therapies using stem cell and platelet rich plasma (PRP) that is revolutionizing the way doctors are treating pain.

Dr. Salinas takes a multimodal approach including using medication to resolve acute or chronic pain. “My goal is to limit the use of medication where possible by treating the pain at its source by using interventional and non interventional methods,” he said.

Patient-centered care is his focus which includes effective communication through listening to patients’ concerns as well as implementing an individualized treatment plan that addresses their ailments as effectively as possible.

Dr. Salinas is excited about some new procedures and treatments on the horizon in the field including the potential applications of stem cells that are making its way to help regenerate joints, muscles, tendons, discs, and nerves. “Although in its infancy, I believe in the next 20 years, this will be at the forefront of therapy,” he said.

In terms of pharmaceuticals, there are new non opioid in nature medications that can be effective in combating chronic pain that are currently under FDA clearance. “The future of pain management is bright and I am proud to be a part of it,” he said.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Salinas is married and a father of three. “I believe it is very important to have balance in your life and spending quality time with my family is at the top of the list,” he said. “Whether it be watching a professional sporting event live, watching my kids play in their sport, working out with my kids, or simply sitting down watching a movie on TV together, I try to incorporate my family in everything I do.”