The non-narcotic, spine and nerve pain, Osteopathic Manipulation, Trigger Point Injections, Nerve Testing, EMG MD in Oklahoma City
The non-narcotic, spine and nerve pain, Osteopathic Manipulation, Trigger Point Injections, Nerve Testing, EMG MD in Oklahoma City
Since 1998, Dr. Hancock has served the South Oklahoma City and Norman areas as a spine and nerve pain specialist. Board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and sub-specialty board-certified in Pain Medicine, Dr. Hancock has a strong background in non-surgical musculoskeletal medicine. However, she is unique in that she does not wish to prescribe medicine unless it is necessary, and when she does prescribe medicine, it is NON-NARCOTIC. Instead, she strives to FIX pain problems with her hands, where possible.
After finishing residency and setting up her first practice in Norman, OK, Dr. Hancock noticed that some people have pain problems that aren’t explained well by imaging (x-rays, MRI, CT scans), which might be why surgery doesn’t always help those patients substantially. She also noticed that some patients have numbness and tingling along with their pain, but their EMG nerve tests do not always show pinched nerves. That is when she began to realize that soft tissue problems (in the muscles, fascia, etc.) can “fake out” doctors, leading them to think there are pinched nerves or spine problems that need surgery. Patients who have knots in their muscles (“trigger points”) are particularly likely to have this sensation of numbness and tingling.
So that she could learn even more about soft tissue pains that don’t show up on MRIs and other tests, Dr. Hancock underwent an additional 800 hours of course work over a 12-year period after her MD residency to learn osteopathic manual medicine (“OMM”). This technique identifies “key areas” of increased tissue tension that can cause pain, and then seeks to treat those areas with hands-on manipulation (done by the doctor). Combining this post-residency osteopathic manipulation training with her residency-based training in electrodiagnostic nerve testing (“EMGs”), trigger point injections, and musculoskeletal medicine, Dr. Hancock has gained a reputation as being able to diagnose and care for patients with the most elusive pain problems.
When she is not busy solving patients’ pain problems, Dr. Hancock teaches residents from the Norman Regional Hospital Emergency Medicine program and medical fellows from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center Pain Management program.
Has twice been named an “Oklahoma Top Doctor” by Oklahoma Magazine. She lives in Oklahoma City with her husband and two dogs and has two grown children.
Undergraduate – B.S. in Biology, Cornell University, 1987.
Medical School – Doctor of Medicine, SUNY at Buffalo, 1994.
Internship – Internal Medicine, Baylor University Medical Center, 1995.
Residency – PM&R, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 1998.
Post-residency OMM training – Via Dr. Ed Stiles DO and Micha Sale PT.
Board-certification – American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; American Board of Pain Medicine.
