Dr. Larrie Greenberg, M.D., is a Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and has served at Children’s National Medical Center. A physician, medical educator, and author, Dr. Greenberg has written extensively about the experiences of clinicians and patients, including A Primer for the Clinician Educator: Supporting Excellence and Promoting Change Through Storytelling (Routledge, 2022) and Misadventures in Patient Care and Medical Education: Lessons Learned for the Clinician Educator (Springer, 2025). In his article, “Chronic Pain: A Physician’s Journey,” published in Pulse Voices, he shares his own experience living with and managing chronic pain.
Chronic pain often requires long-term and individualized management. Physician and medical educator Larrie Greenberg shared his personal journey with chronic pain in Pulse Voices in his article, “Chronic Pain: A Physician’s Journey.” Over the years, he explored a variety of treatments, including physical therapy, massage, injections, radiofrequency nerve treatments, and acupuncture. Chronic pain often requires long-term and individualized management. Over the years, Dr. Greenberg explored a variety of treatments, including physical therapy, massage, injections, radiofrequency nerve treatments, and acupuncture. Reflecting on his experience, he wrote:
“Still, I did have a very positive outcome initially. And recently, after two neurosurgeons suggested surgery for a new bout of shoulder pain that had resisted treatments such as radiofrequency nerve ablation, cervical epidurals and facet and soft-tissue injections, I returned to acupuncture—and twelve treatments later, my shoulder pain had totally disappeared.”
Dr. Greenberg’s experience offers a firsthand perspective on the role acupuncture played in his own chronic pain journey. While individual responses to acupuncture vary and one person’s experience does not predict another patient’s outcome, his account illustrates how acupuncture may be considered as part of an individualized approach to pain management.
At our clinic, we provide personalized acupuncture care designed to meet each patient’s individual needs and support their long-term pain-management goals.
Source: Larrie Greenberg, “Chronic Pain: A Physician’s Journey,” Pulse Voices, July 17, 2026.
Read the Original Article: “Chronic Pain: A Physician’s Journey”
This article describes the author’s personal experience. Individual responses to acupuncture may vary, and one person’s experience does not represent the treatment outcome of all patients.
