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Specialty:: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine
Department Affiliation:: Orthopaedic Surgery
Hospital Affiliation:: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica
State License:: A77878
Phone:: 310-319-3475
Health Plans:: Accepted Plans

About Me

David E. Fish, M.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopedics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Assistant Program Director of the Pain Medicine Fellowship at GLA VA WLA/ UCLA Multidisciplinary program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Fish is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. He is also a consulting physician for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Fish is a leading expert in the treatment of Non-operative spinal disorders and is a member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPMR), the Academic Association of Physiatrists (AAP), the International Society of Injection Specialists (ISIS), and the North American Spine Society (NASS).

Dr. Fish earned his medical degree from New York Medical College in New York, New York. After graduation, he completed a medical internship at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, and his residency at The Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was named Chief Resident for 2000 – 2001, before completing a fellowship in Pain Medicine at UCLA / WLA VA Multicampus training Program. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Since joining staff at UCLA, Dr. Fish was awarded the Distinguished Clinician award by residents for his work in the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Clinical Instructor of the Year for David Geffen School of Medicine Medical Student Training, and also received an award for the best research paper of the year by the Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. His research was presented at the National Academy Meeting for PM&R and NASS. He has over 16 peer reviewed articles in the following journals: Pain Physicians, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, and The Journal of Pain.

An accomplished writer, Dr. Fish was also a co-editor of The Pocketpaedia, a guide for PM&R physicians, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Secrets. Dr. Fish has a new publication on Pain Medicine that will be released in 2011.

Dr. Fish has trained all levels of physicians from first year medical students to practicing physicians. He continues to excel at teaching by gaining recognition and awards by his peers.

Links

uclahealth.org/ortho
uclahealth.org/spinecenter

Primary Office: UCLA Spine Center
Primary Address: 1131 Wilshire Blvd
Suite 100
Santa Monica, California 90401
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Phone: 310-319-3475

Medical Board Certifications: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehab, 2002
Certification 2: Orthopaedic Surgery, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehab, 2003
Fellowship: Pain Management, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 2001-2002
Residency: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1998-2001
Internship: Transitional Internship, Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center, 1994-1995
Degree: New York Medical College, MD, 1994

Interests

Back Pain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is when the median nerve is compressed as it passes through the carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel is an opening in your wrist that is formed by the carpal bones on the bottom of the wrist and the transverse carpal ligament across the top of the wrist.
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Cervical Radiculopathy
Pinched Nerve
Radiculopathy, commonly called pinched nerve, is most likely to occur in your lower back (lumbar radiculopathy), but it can also affect your neck (cervical radiculopathy) or other parts of your spinal cord.
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Cervical Spine
Cervical Spondylosis
Cervical spondylosis is a type of degenerative disease that affects your neck. Normally, soft disks between the bones in your spine (called vertebrae) provide cushioning. With cervical spondylosis, these disks become squeezed (compressed).
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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Complex regional pain syndrome is an abnormal response by the body to pain. The nerve endings that control pain in an injured part of the body may become too sensitive to the chemical messengers carried by the sympathetic nervous system.
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Discogram
Disk Degeneration
Disk Herniation
Lumbar Disk Disease (Herniated Disk)
Lumbar disk disease occurs when the spongy disks between the vertebrae bulge out or rupture. Lumbar disk disease is caused by a change in the structure of the normal disk. Most of the time, disk disease happens as a result of aging and the normal break down that occurs within the disk.
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Electromyography (EMG)
Electromyography
Electromyography measures your muscle response or electrical activity in response to a nerve's stimulation of your muscle. The test is used to help detect neuromuscular abnormalities.
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Epidural Injections
Epidural Corticosteroid Injections
In the simplest of terms, an epidural corticosteroid (steroid) injection is a way to deliver pain medicine quickly into the body with a syringe.
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Facet Joint Syndrome
Hip Pain
Hyaluronic Acid Injections for all Joints
Knee Pain
Knee Pain and Problems
The knee is a vulnerable joint that bears a great deal of stress from everyday activities, such as lifting and kneeling, and from high-impact activities, such as jogging and aerobics. Common knee problems include sprains, strains, torn cartilage, and arthritis.
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Kyphoplasty
Kyphoplasty
Kyphoplasty is a procedure used to treat fractures or breaks in the vertebrae. It involves injecting a cement-like material into the vertebra to make it more stable.
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Lumbar Radiculopathy
Pinched Nerve
Radiculopathy, commonly called pinched nerve, is most likely to occur in your lower back (lumbar radiculopathy), but it can also affect your neck (cervical radiculopathy) or other parts of your spinal cord.
Learn more >
MILD for Spinal Stenosis
What Is Spinal Stenosis?
Spinal stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal narrows and pinches the nerves. This results in back and leg pain. Surgical treatment for spinal stenosis is considered after nonsurgical remedies have not improved symptoms, and when the benefits of surgery are greater than the potential risks.
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Myelopathy
Neck Pain
Neck Pain
Your neck is at risk for injury because of its location and range-of-motion. Neck pain can be caused by injury, age, or inflammatory disorders. Neck pain can range from mild discomfort to disabling, chronic pain.
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Pars Defect of Lumbar Spine
Post Laminectomy Spine Pain Syndrome
Radiculopathy
Pinched Nerve
Radiculopathy, commonly called pinched nerve, is most likely to occur in your lower back (lumbar radiculopathy), but it can also affect your neck (cervical radiculopathy) or other parts of your spinal cord.
Learn more >
Radiofrequency Ablation
Sacroiliac Joint Pain
Therapeutic Pain Blocks
If you don't get relief from standard pain relievers, you doctor may suggest injecting pain-relieving medicine into the site of the affected nerve. This injection will block the pain signals the nerve would otherwise send to your brain. If your brain doesn't receive this message of alarm, you won't feel the pain you would normally feel.
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Sciatica
Sciatica
Sciatica, also called lumbar radiculopathy, is a pain that originates along your sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. The pain extends from the back of your pelvis down the back of your thigh.
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Shoulder Pain
Shoulder Pain and Problems
Although the shoulder is the most movable joint in the body, it is also an unstable joint because of its range-of-motion. Because the ball of the upper arm is larger than the socket of the shoulder, it is susceptible to injury. The shoulder joint must also be supported by soft tissues - muscles, tendons, and ligaments - which are also subject to injury, overuse, and under use.
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Spinal Compression Fractures
Compression Fracture
A compression fracture is a type of break in the bones in your back that stack up to form your spine. A compression fracture can cause back pain, limited movement, a decrease in height, and a stopped over posture. It often develops as a result of osteoporosis.
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Spinal Cord Stimulators
Treating Pain with Spinal Cord Stimulators
Spinal cord stimulation is one way to manage various types of pain. A spinal cord stimulator is an implanted device that sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord.
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Spine
Anatomy of the Spine
Your backbone, also called the vertebral column, is made up of 33 vertebrae separated by spongy disks.
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Spondylolisthesis/Spondylolysis
Overuse Injuries
Detailed information on overuse injuries in children, including jumper's knee, patellar tendonitis, little leaguers' elbow, little leaguers' shoulder, osteochondritis dissecans, Sever's disease, shin splints, Sinding-Larsen-Johansson disease, spondylolisthesis, and spondylolysis
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Sports Spine Injury Disorder
Stenosis
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a variety of symptoms that happen from a narrowing of your thoracic outlet—the space between your collarbone and your first rib. It can result from injury, disease, or a problem you had from birth.
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Trigger Point Injections
Trochanteric Bursitis
Bursitis
Bursitis is inflammation of the fluid-filled sac (bursa) that cushions and reduces friction between tissues of the body. The major bursae (plural of bursa) are found near the tendons and large joints, such as the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees.
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Vertebroplasty
Vertebroplasty
Vertebroplasty is a procedure used to treat fractures or breaks in the vertebrae. In this procedure, a thick cement mixture is injected into a fractured vertebra to stabilize the spine.
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Publications: Link to my PubMed publications >

In The News: The Doctors TV - Dr. David Fish explains the radiofrequency ablation procedure for back pain
Awards: 2018 Los Angeles Magazine Top Doctors

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Pinched Nerve

Cervical Spondylosis

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Lumbar Disk Disease (Herniated Disk)

Electromyography

Epidural Corticosteroid Injections

Knee Pain and Problems

Kyphoplasty

Pinched Nerve

What Is Spinal Stenosis?

Neck Pain

Pinched Nerve

Therapeutic Pain Blocks

Sciatica

Shoulder Pain and Problems

Compression Fracture

Treating Pain with Spinal Cord Stimulators

Anatomy of the Spine

Overuse Injuries

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Bursitis

Vertebroplasty