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Allen-Chen Photo

Is Super
Southern California Super Doctors
Specialty:
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Department Affiliation:
Orthopaedic Surgery
Hospital Affiliation:
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center
State License:
A106547
Phone:
310-319-3475
Health Plans:
Accepted Plans
  • About Me
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About Me

Download Dr. Chen's complete CV >

Allen S. Chen, MD, MPH, FAAPMR is a double-boarded Physiatrist specializing in non-operative and minimally invasive treatments of the spine. He specializes in treating acute and chronic spine and musculoskeletal conditions, without using opiates. In addition, he specializes in rehabilitation of adults with Cerebral Palsy. Dr. Chen completed his undergraduate education at Harvard and his MD at NYU. He completed residency at University of Washington and his Pain fellowship at UCLA/West LA VA. He comes to UCLA from Columbia University, where was the Chief of Ambulatory Spine at the Och Spine Hospital at NYP, and played a central role in building a large multidisciplinary spine hospital. He lectures nationally and internationally, and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters, including in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Chen has been interviewed by several media outlets, including the Huffington Post, Reuters, The New Yorker, Boston Globe, Refinery29, Readers Digest, and WNYC Public Radio.

Primary Office
Spine Center
1131 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 100
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Get Directions
View Map
Phone
310-319-3475
Fax
(424) 259-6930
Secondary Office
Renee Meyer Luskin Children's Clinic
1250 16th St.
Suite 2100B
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Get Directions
View Map
Phone
(424) 259-6593
Medical Board Certifications
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehab, 2010
Certification 2
Pain Medicine, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehab, 2011
Fellowship
Pain Medicine, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 2009-2010
Residency
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Washington School of Medicine, 2006-2009
Internship
Internal Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center, 2005-2006
Degree
New York University School of Medicine, MD, 2005
Publications
  1. Chen A, Miccio V, Smith C, Christolias G, Casari, J. "Procedural Pain During Lumbar Medial Branch Blocks With and Without Skin Wheal Anesthesia: a Comparative Observational Study." Pain Medicine, In Press
  2. Chen, A., Principal Investigator. Platelet Rich Plasma injections into the Sacroiliac joint, Funded, Ongoing
  3. Smith C, Visco C, Johnson E, Chen A. Cross-Sectional Anatomy of the Multifidi after Lumbar Radiofrequency Ablation. Funded project, ongoing
  4. Chi, M, Chen A. "Ultrasound guided lumbar spine injections." Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics, Volume 29, Issue 1, 49 – 60. Feb 2018.
  5. Friedly JL, Comstock BA, Turner JA, Heagerty PJ, Deyo RA, Bauer Z, Avins AL, Nedeljkovic SS, Nerenz DR, Shi XR, Annaswamy T, Standaert CJ, Smuck M, Kennedy DJ, Akuthota V, Sibell D, Wasan AD, Diehn F, Suri P, Rundell SD, Kessler L, Chen AS, Jarvik JG. "Long-Term Effects of Repeated Injections of Local Anesthetic With or Without Corticosteroid for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Randomized Trial." Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2017;98:1499-507
  6. Friedly JL, Comstock BA, Turner JA, Heagerty PJ, Deyo RA, Sullivan SD, Bauer Z, Bresnahan BW, Avins AL, Nedeljkovic SS, Nerenz DR, Standaert C, Kessler L, Akuthota V, Annaswamy T, Chen A, Diehn F, Firtch W, Gerges FJ, Gilligan C, Goldberg H, Kennedy DJ, Mandel S, Tyburski M, Sanders W, Sibell D, Smuck M, Wasan A, Won L, Jarvik JG. "A Randomized Trial of Epidural Corticosteroid Injection for Spinal Stenosis." New England Journal of Medicine. July 2014; 371:11-21.
  7. Chen A. Guest Editor. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America: Neck Pain. Elsevier. August 2011.
  8. Dreyfuss P, Cohen S, Chen A, Bohart Z, Bogduk N. "Is Immediate Pain Relief After a Spinal Injection Procedure Enhanced by Intravenous Sedation?" PM&R. January 2009, Vo. 1 No. 1 60-63.
  9. Chen A, Robinson L. "Proximal median neuropathy masquerading as carpal tunnel syndrome." American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. October 2008.

Lectures:

  • Instructor, Spine Intervention Society Instructor
  • Instructor, North American Spine Society
  • Education Division Member, Spine Intervention Society
  • Vice Chair, CME Committee, Spine Intervention Society

Invited Lectures:

  • Invited Lecturer, SILACO-NASS. “Advanced course in Percutaneous Techniques of the Lumbar Spine,” Sociedad Iberolatinamerica De Columna. CLEMI, Bogota Columbia. Oct 2018
  • Co-Chair, NASS and AOSpine pre-course, “Lumbar Ultrasound and Fluoroscopic Guided Spinal Procedures,” Global Spine Congress, Singapore. May 2018
  • Co-Chair, “CAOS-NASS Advanced Spine Surgery Cadaver Course,” 11th Congress of Chinese Association of Orthopedic Surgeons. May 2018
  • Invited Lecturer. 4th Arab Spine Annual Conference. “Lumbar Radiofrequency Ablation.” Muscat, Oman. Feb 2018
  • Invited Lecturer. 4th Arab Spine Annual Conference. “Tools of the Interventionalist.” Muscat, Oman. Feb 2018
  • Grand Rounds, Columbia University Medical Center, Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine. “Racing the Extremes: Lessons Learned from 1000km of Sports Coverage in the Worlds Direst Deserts.” New York, NY. Nov 2017
  • Invited Lecturer. North American Spine Society Annual Meeting. “Interventional Management of the Patient with Tandem Spinal Stenosis.” Orlando, FL. Oct 2017
  • Invited Lecturer and Instructor, Taiwan Pain Society, 2nd International Symposium of Cooled RF and RFA in Pain Management. “Cooled RF Ablation for Chronic Knee Pain.” MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Sept 2017.
  • Invited Lecturer, Taiwan Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. “Cooled RF Ablation for Chronic Lumbar Spine Pain.” Taiching Veterans Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. Sept 2017
  • Grand Rounds, Columbia University Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery. “Interdisciplinary Spine Management: Navigating the Continuum of Care.” New York, NY. August 2017
  • Invited Lecturer, Asian Congress of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Techniques. “Facet Mediated Pain, Medial Branch Blocks, and Radiofrequency Ablation.” The 6th Asian Congress of MISST. Bangkok, Thailand. July 2017
  • Invited Lecturer and Instructor, North American Spine Society. “Ultrasound and Fluoroscopically Guided Spine Interventions.” Chinese Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou China, May 2017
  • Invited Lecturer, 18th Dubai International Spine Conference. “Cervical RadioFrequency Ablation” and “Non-Operative Treatment options for the Cervical Spine.” Dubai, United Arab Emirates. May 2017
  • Invited Lecturer, Egyptian Spine Association, ESA 6th Scientific Annual Meeting. “The Role of Spinal Interventions” Sharm-El Sheikh, Egypt, November 2016
  • Invited Lecturer and Instructor, North American Spine Society. “Ultrasound and Fluoroscopically Guided Spine Interventions.” 2 day course, Singapore October 2016
  • Grand Rounds, Cornell University Medical Center, Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine. Advancements in Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation: Current Trends and Evidence.” New York, NY. August 2016
  • Morgan Stanley Lunch and Learn. “You and Your Back.” New York, NY. May 2016
  • Invited Lecturer, 17th Dubai International Spine Conference. “Developments in Percutaneous Radiofrequency Lesioning for Chronic Spine Pain.” Dubai, United Arab Emirates. April 2016
In The News

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Madonna and Heidi Have Done It. Should You Try Electronic Muscle Stimulation?
5 Signs You Have a Pinched Nerve

Note: News website links may expire without notice.

Awards
  • Southern California Super Doctors® 2021
  • Super Doctors® Southern California Rising Stars 2019
  • Super Doctors® Southern California Rising Stars 2018
Allen S. Chen, MD, MPH click here to update your profile
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