Chronic pain is persistent pain that restrains a normal lifestyle by affecting a patient's physical and emotional well-being. When persistent pain cannot be reduced by conventional medical treatment or conventional physical therapy, the patient becomes a candidate for comprehensive pain management.

The Department of Anesthesiology's Pain Management Center at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center provides for the diagnosis and management of pain problems through an outpatient clinic environment. Highly trained physicians, nurses and technical personnel well versed in the areas of pharmacological, physical, and psychological therapeutic methods evaluate each patient and produce an individual treatment plan. The staff work closely with the patient's primary physician to provide a diagnosis and recommend a specific treatment program for each patient.