Introducing Dr. Spinner

Last month we met Dr. Joseph Herrera. This month we introduce you to Director of Pain Medicine and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery for the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Dr. David Spinner.

Dr. Spinner has always had a keen interest in sports, specifically baseball, basketball and the winter Olympics. Besides being a fan of various teams, he has also participated in many sports over the years, including volleyball, skiing, tennis, and most preferred of all, baseball. This interest in sports directly links to his current particular interest in sports injuries and the related field of musculoskeletal medicine. Musculoskeletal medicine is left largely unexplored in most medical sectors and it was his interest in this niche topic which led him to eventually specialize in Rehabilitation Medicine.

The medical education leading towards Dr. Spinner's eventual specialization began at Emory University, before being continued at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Following this he completed an internship at Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn and subsequently embarked on a residency at the Icahn School of Medicine. In 2015 he won an award for pain medicine fellowship excellence for his work during a fellowship in Interventional Pain at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Harvard Spine Center. He has made contributions to furthering the field of Rehabilitation Medicine through investigating new ways to advance procedures and improve patient care. Dr. Spinner is one of the first physicians in the country to be certified in diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasonography, and performs many musculoskeletal pathologies. His focus lies in ultrasound guided interventions, advanced spine interventions, and minimally invasive spine surgery, and he has written several publications concerning these techniques. The list of other interventions that Dr. Spinner performs also includes spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, kyphoplasties, endoscopic rhizotomies, and disectomies.

As a specialist within his field, Dr. Spinner lectures on musculoskeletal ultrasonography across the country and was the lead editor for the Atlas of Ultrasound Guided Musculoskeletal Injections, the first textbook on this subject. He has developed his own unique strategies towards the treatment of both acute and chronic pain.

The interest that Dr. Spinner has in this field continues beyond his professional practice. He is a supporter of various pain and musculoskeletal charities, including the Facial Pain Association, a resource for information and guidance for those suffering from neuropathic facial pain. Dr. Spinner is also an active and involved supporter the Wounded Warriors Project, whose mission it is to honour and empower war veterans who suffer from physical and mental ailments in relation to their military service.