Center for Pain Studies

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) Center for Pain Studies was founded in 1976 by Robert G. Addison, MD to support and develop research in the field of pain. Dr. Addison also founded the Center for Pain Management. From 1985 to 1993 clinical activities of the Center for Pain Studies were further developed by Richard Blonsky, MD.

In 1993, research became a primary focus of the Center with Dr. Norm Harden as the medical director. Five years later Dr. Harden was awarded the Addison Chair in Pain Studies. For more than 20 years Dr. Harden has been an influential member of the pain research community and has a long history of treating chronic pain at Center for Pain Management.

The RIC Center for Pain Studies has emerged as a “stand-alone” research center with the cooperation of the RIC Chronic Pain Care Center and its director, Steven Stanos, DO. The RIC Center for Pain Studies uses the latest tools in chronic pain research to examine quantitative and qualitative aspects of the human pain response.

Current projects include research in cervicogenic headache, complex regional pain syndrome, amputee/phantom limb pain, pain associated with spinal cord injuries, neuropathic pain and functional outcomes in the treatment of chronic pain. Research protocols include multicenter medication trials, investigator-initiated studies of novel pharmacotherapeutic agents and independent research initiatives in central and peripheral neurological processes associated with a variety of pain conditions.