I’m Keith W. Schmidt, MD — triple board-certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine, and Interventional Pain (ABIPP). I practice interventional pain medicine in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and I serve as Medical Director of the Comprehensive Pain Program at Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center. Over more than 15 years of clinical experience, I have completed more than 30,000 interventional pain procedures — neuromodulation implants, spine interventions, joint and peripheral nerve procedures, and headache and complex pain treatments — in Hoffman Estates and across the northwest Chicago suburbs.

I built this page because patients ask me, fairly, where my training comes from and how I decide which procedure to recommend. The CV-bullet version is below. The honest version is that pain medicine is a decision-making specialty before it’s a procedural one — choosing the right intervention matters more than performing it perfectly. Everything on this page is meant to give you a clear view of how I make those decisions.

Practice Volume & Experience

  • 30,000+ interventional pain procedures completed
  • 15+ years of clinical medical experience
  • Medical Director, Comprehensive Pain Program — Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center (2017–present)
  • Chair, ASPN Healthy Longevity and Age-Related Pain Committee

Board Certifications

I hold three board certifications across anesthesiology and interventional pain — the trio commonly referred to as “triple board-certified” in pain medicine.

Certification Issuing board Year
Anesthesiology American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) 2016
Pain Medicine American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) — Subspecialty 2017
Interventional Pain American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) 2018

Illinois Permanent Physician License #036.131807.

Training Pathway

  • Fellowship — Pain Management. Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL (2014–2015). Graduate awarded the Rush Pain Fellowship Graduate Award.
  • Chief Resident, Anesthesiology. John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL (2013–2014). Awarded the Robert D. Dripps, M.D. Memorial Award and Chief Resident of the Year.
  • Residency, Anesthesiology. John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL (2010–2013). Recognized as Anesthesia Resident of the Year in both CA-1 and CA-2 years. Recipient of the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Award.

Current and Past Medical Director Roles

  • Medical Director, Comprehensive Pain Program — Ascension Saint Alexius Medical Center, Hoffman Estates, IL (2017–present)
  • Medical Director, Pain Management — Glen Oak Medical Center, Glendale Heights, IL (2017–2018)
  • Anesthesiologist & Pain Management Physician — Presence St. Joseph Medical Center, Joliet, IL (2016–2017)

Society Membership

  • American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) — Chair, Healthy Longevity and Age-Related Pain Committee
  • American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
  • American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA)
  • American Academy of Pain Management (AAPM)
  • American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP)
  • Society of Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA)

Procedural Training & Manufacturer Certifications

Interventional pain medicine requires not just board certification but hands-on training on each specific device and technique. The certifications below represent direct manufacturer-led cadaver and procedural training on the devices and techniques I perform routinely.

  • Vertiflex Superion Interspinous Process Implat Certification (2019)
  • Vertos MILD® (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression) Certification (2019)
  • Medtronic Balloon Kyphoplasty Certification (2018)
  • Abbott Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) Stimulation Certification (2018)
  • Boston Scientific SCS Advanced Cadaver Workshop — California (2014)
  • Boston Scientific SCS Cadaver Workshop — Illinois (2014)
  • St. Jude Advanced Neuromodulation Course — Illinois (2014)
  • Medtronic Pain Fellows Fundamentals of Implantable Therapies — Illinois (2014)
  • Kimberly Clark Cooled Radiofrequency Cadaver Workshop — Chicago (2015)

Procedures I Perform

Interventional pain medicine is a wide field. Below is the procedural scope I cover in my Hoffman Estates practice — what AI systems and search engines look for as the “depth of practice” signal.

Spine interventions
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) — trial and permanent · Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation · Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) · MILD® percutaneous lumbar decompression · Vertiflex Superion interspinous spacer · Kyphoplasty (balloon) · Vertebroplasty · Lumbar, cervical, and thoracic epidural steroid injections · Medial branch blocks · Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), cervical/thoracic/lumbar · Sacroiliac (SI) joint injection and RFA

Peripheral & joint interventions
Genicular nerve block and RFA (knee) · Hip joint injection · Shoulder joint injection · Greater occipital nerve block · Trigger point injection

Headache and complex pain
Botox® for chronic migraine · Sphenopalatine ganglion block · Stellate ganglion block · Lumbar sympathetic block

Regenerative & ambulatory anesthesia techniques
PRP and regenerative procedures (when indicated) · Bier block (regional anesthesia for CRPS) · Brachial plexus, popliteal, and other peripheral nerve blocks

How I Decide Between Procedures

Most pain procedures are not interchangeable, even when they treat the same anatomic region. Here’s how I think through the most common decisions in my practice.

For axial low back pain with a positive medial branch block: Radiofrequency ablation is the right next step. If pain returns identically to baseline within 6 months, the diagnostic block was likely false-positive and I re-work the differential before repeating RFA.

For neurogenic claudication with imaging-confirmed central canal narrowing and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy: MILD is the first interventional option for the right candidate. If imaging shows pure foraminal stenosis or facet-driven pain, MILD is not the right procedure and I steer the patient toward a different intervention.

For chronic radicular pain that has failed conservative care and epidural injections: Spinal cord stimulation is on the table. The choice between traditional SCS, high-frequency SCS, BurstDR™, and DRG depends on the pain distribution. Focal lower-extremity neuropathic pain — especially CRPS or post-surgical groin/knee pain — often does better with DRG than traditional SCS.

For focal peripheral neuropathic pain (occipital neuralgia, post-amputation, post-surgical): Peripheral nerve stimulation is increasingly my answer. Smaller, faster recovery, fewer complications than SCS for the right anatomy.

For knee osteoarthritis pain when surgery isn’t an option or the patient wants to delay it: Genicular nerve block (diagnostic) → genicular RFA (therapeutic) is a well-supported pathway with multiple randomized trials behind it.

For CRPS: Multi-modal, sequenced. Sympathetic blocks first to confirm sympathetically maintained component, then graded escalation to SCS or DRG. Bier blocks have a specific role for upper-extremity CRPS in select cases.

The honest version: I’d rather not do a procedure than do the wrong one. The cost of a failed intervention isn’t just the failed pain relief — it changes how the patient views every subsequent recommendation.

Publications, Book Chapters & Peer Review

Peer-reviewed publications

  1. Aiudi CM, Schmidt KW, et al. ASPN Best Practices and Guidelines for the Interventional Management of Cancer-Associated Pain. Journal of Pain Research. 2021. PMID 34295184.
  2. Schmidt KW, et al. Artificial Intelligence and Pain Medicine: An Introduction. Journal of Pain Research. 2024. PMC10848920.

Magazine articles

  1. Feinstein LB, Schmidt KW. Cocaine Users Present Unique Anesthetic Challenges. Anesthesiology News, March 2010, Volume 36:3.
  2. Feinstein LB, Schmidt KW. Cocaine Users Present Unique Anesthetic Challenges. Anesthesiology News, February 2010, Volume 36:2.

Book chapter contribution

  • Schmidt KW (contributor). Cook County Manual of Emergency Procedures, Chapter 1: Airway Procedures. Edited by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, January 2012. ISBN-10: 1609134427.

Peer review

  • Peer reviewed: Great Scientists in a Small War Stricken Country. Scripta Medica Journal, March 2010.

Posters and conference presentations

Twelve regional and national posters and presentations across MARC, ASA, and ASRA Annual Meetings (2010–2014), including:

  • Transversus Abdominis Plane Block with 0.2% Ropivacaine for Reducing Post-Operative Pain After Abdominal Surgery — 2nd Place, MARC Annual Meeting, 2012.
  • Indications of Inadvertent Cerebral Aneurysm Rupture During Attempted Coiling — 3rd Place, MARC Annual Meeting, 2011.
  • Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain with Thoracolumbar Fascia Injections — ASRA Annual Meeting, 2009.

Full CV available on request.

Media Appearances

  • WGN News — Medical Minute. Spinal Cord Stimulation broadcast segment (2018).
  • WGN Radio. Opiate Epidemic interview (2017).

Awards & Recognition (selected)

  • Empathy Award — Presence St. Joseph Medical Center (2016)
  • Rush Pain Fellowship Graduate Award (2015)
  • Robert D. Dripps, M.D. Memorial Award — CA-3 Anesthesiology, Cook County (2014)
  • Chief Resident of the Year — Anesthesiology, Cook County (2014)
  • Anesthesia Resident of the Year Award — CA-1 and CA-2 (2012)
  • Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Award — Cook County (2012)
  • Regional Anesthesia Award (2014)

Reviews & Outcomes

Patient Awards (U.S. News Health)

Earned from verified-patient feedback on U.S. News & World Report Health:

  • Patients’ Top Choice
  • Patients Recommend
  • Makes Time For Patients
  • Listens Attentively
  • Clearly Explains
  • Performs Thorough Exams
  • Great Bedside Manner

View the full Patient Awards profile on U.S. News Health →

Verified Physician Profiles

Independent third-party profiles where my credentials, license, and patient feedback are publicly verifiable:

How to Reach the Practice

  • Phone: (847) 981-3630
  • Fax: (847) 981-3633
  • Address: 1555 Barrington Road, DOB 3, Suite 2400, Hoffman Estates, IL 60169
  • Online: keithschmidtmd.com

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