Interventional Pain Medicine From Missoula Valley Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Your place for movement improvement and interventional pain management in Western Montana

Our mission is to enhance and improve functional mobility and quality of life for our patients. Learn more about Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (also known as physiatry) and meet our team.

Man meeting with a physiatrist in a medical office

Missoula’s Destination for Improved Quality of Life

Living with disability or chronic pain can feel like your world has shrunk to the size of your symptoms. At our comprehensive Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) clinic in Missoula, we offer compassionate, evidence-based solutions that help you move better, have a higher level of independence, or help decrease care-giver burden. Our practice encompasses general physiatry as well as interventional pain management options in order to meet all of your needs.

From new injuries to long-standing disability our mission is simple: provide compassionate, personalized care that improves function for every patient we see. Our experienced team of PM&R providers combines advanced medicine with hometown Montana warmth, helping patients and their families navigate through their journey from diagnosis to higher quality of life.

Step inside our modern clinic and you’ll notice something different: a friendly care team that listens first and treats second. Our procedure suites are equipped for image-guided precision, and our comprehensive approach blends medical innovation with whole-person evaluations and treatment plans.

  • Improved mobility

  • Reduced pain originating from the spine or joints

  • Enhancing range of motion

  • Reducing monthly occurrence of migraines

  • Treating cervical dystonia and neck tremors

  • Diagnosing nerve pain, numbness, & tingling

  • Long term care for stroke, brain injury, amputation, and spinal cord injury

Improving ability to mobilize

Enhancing range of motion

Reducing monthly occurrence of migraines

Treating cervical dystonia

Identifying nerve pain, numbness, & tingling

Long term care for stroke, brain injury, and spinal cord injury.

Understanding Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R or Physiatry)

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (also called Physiatry) is the medical specialty devoted to restoring function, reducing chronic pain, and improving quality of life after injury, illness, or nerve-muscle disorders. Here’s what makes PM&R different:

  • Function-first care: Goals like walking farther, playing with your kids, returning to work, or sleeping without pain guide every decision.

  • Non-surgical solutions: Most problems can be improved without surgery. When surgery is appropriate, we coordinate your pre- and post-operative rehab.

  • Whole-person approach: We consider movement patterns, lifestyle, and environment—not just imaging results.

  • Team-based medicine: Physiatrists collaborate with physical and occupational therapists, primary care, neurologists, surgeons, and mental health providers to align your care.

How We Diagnose & Treat

Rather than focusing on a single body part, physiatrists look at how your brain, nerves, muscles, bones, and daily routines work together, then create a plan to help you do more of what matters.

We listen to your story, review prior records and imaging, and perform a focused exam to pinpoint the true source of limitation.

When helpful, we use electrodiagnostic studies (EMG/NCS) and ultrasound or fluoroscopy guidance to clarify the diagnosis.

Treatment may include image-guided injections, spasticity management (e.g., botulinum toxin), bracing and assistive devices, therapy prescriptions, home exercise progressions, and practical lifestyle strategies.

What To Expect At Your First Visit:

  • A conversation about your goals and how symptoms impact work, family, and recreation.

  • A focused exam and review of imaging/tests.

  • Clear recommendations with a step-by-step plan: what we’ll do today, what happens next, and how we’ll measure progress.

Whether you’re recovering from a new injury, managing a long-standing condition, or seeking answers for nerve pain and mobility challenges, PM&R offers a path back to confident movement—and back to the Montana life you love.

Understanding Interventional Pain Medicine

Interventional pain medicine is a branch of pain management that treats pain at its source with image-guided procedures rather than masking symptoms with long-term medications.

What Missoula Valley Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation offers:

  • Pinpoint Precision: Using real-time imaging and electrodiagnostics to identify the exact nerve, joint, or soft-tissue structure causing your pain.

  • Minimally Invasive: Medication is delivered directly to the target.

  • Faster Recovery: Recovery is usually measured in hours or days, so you return to work, sport, and family activities far sooner.

The result is faster relief, fewer systemic side effects, and a personalized treatment plan built around your life giving you a quicker return to the Montana lifestyle you love.

Understanding Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (also known as Physiatry)

A physiatrist is a Movement Improvement Specialist.

Physiatrists treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons.

Our Patients Usually Include Those Who:

  • Had a stroke

  • Have lost a limb

  • Need durable medical equipment to function at their best

  • Have an ongoing neurodegenerative disease to manage

  • Are in need of testing to identify nerve injury, dysfunction, or disease

  • Had a traumatic brain injury 

  • Had a spinal cord injury

  • Have a joint, muscle, or sports injury

  • Neck tremors or abnormal head and neck positioning, also known as cervical dystonia

  • Suffer from chronic migraines

Conditions We Treat

Our providers specialize in diagnosing and managing functional limitations due to injury, illness, or pain. This includes common issues like:

  • Low back and neck pain 

  • Brain injury

  • Stroke

  • Sciatica and herniated discs

  • Spinal cord injury

  • Spine facet joint arthritis and sacroiliac joint dysfunction

  • Limited range of motion due to spasticity or cervical dystonia

  • Multiple Sclerosis

  • Limb amputation

  • Chronic migraine headaches

  • Shoulder, hip, and knee osteoarthritis

  • Neuromuscular and motor neuron diseases, like ALS

  • Cerebral palsy and other congenital conditions that limit function

If you’re unsure what’s causing your discomfort, we’ll begin with a comprehensive evaluation, advanced imaging review, and testing to pinpoint the underlying issue.

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Comprehensive Treatment Options for Functional Improvements

Your are unique, and your treatment should be too. At MVPMR, we specialize in advanced diagnostic evaluation and a full spectrum of advanced, minimally invasive procedures. Our focus is to create a precise, personalized treatment plan designed to not just diagnose and manage your functional limitations and chronic pain, but to improve function or quality of life.

Our advanced, image-guided injections provide targeted relief for a variety of spine and musculoskeletal conditions. This includes epidural steroid injections to address radiating spine pain, steroid injections of the sacroiliac joints and hips,  and medial branch blocks to accurately diagnose the source of facet joint pain.

We offer advanced procedures designed to provide long-term relief of neck, back, and extremity pain. Our services feature radiofrequency ablation which can offer lasting pain relief for 12 to 18 months, peripheral nerve blocks to treat localized joint and limb pain, and spinal cord stimulation trials for chronic neuropathic pain that is unresponsive to other forms of care.

For those who have developed tight muscles from a stroke, spinal injury, brain injury, or other forms of nerve injury, we provide botulinum toxin injections (Botox, Dysport, Xeomin) to improve muscle tone. This will allow for increased limb and neck range of motion which can decrease chronic pain and allow for improved mobility. We can also provide recommendations for additional treatments such as physical therapy, dry needling, or referrals for baclofen pump consultation.

If you or a loved one suffers from chronic migraines, we offer Botox injections for treatment.  Requirements for Botox injections include having on average 15 or more migraine days per month, have tried and failed at least 2 preventative medications, and 2 abortive medications.

Our experienced team is innovative & compassionate about patient care

“Dr. Shurtz is one of the best medical professionals we have ever worked with. We like everything about him and his practice. He is not only extremely knowledgeable in his field, but also compassionate with his patients and he communicates in a down-to-earth and easy to understand manner. When we moved to Missoula a few years ago, we were nervous about finding a good fit for our medical needs. We were thrilled to find someone who could deliver what we needed, is kind, and is in town!”

— Amber Arthur Patient, Missoula, MT

Joe Shurtz, D.O.
Owner & Physician

Fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (aapmr.org)

Fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (aapmr.org)

Meet Our Pain Management Specialists

Our team blends decades of experience with forward-thinking innovation, all under one roof in Missoula, MT.

Each of our interventional pain doctors is Board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with fellowship training in Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine. They perform hundreds of procedures every year, ensuring you receive the safest and most effective care available.

Our Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physicians focus on restoring function and stamina. They coordinate closely with physical therapists to create movement programs that accelerate recovery and prevent future injury.

Caring & Dedicated Team

From our physicians and advanced practice providers to our medical assistants and front-office coordinators, our staff is unified by a single mission: to provide seamless, patient-centered support from the first phone call through every follow-up visit. This collaborative team approach means new patients feel heard, supported, and know their treatment plan is tailored toward them and their unique life..

Together, we stay at the forefront of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine advancements through ongoing training, research participation, and national conference involvement—so you receive the best that modern medicine can offer.

Give us a call today, you’ll be glad you did.

(406) 233-0899

Why Choose Us for Pain Management in Missoula?

  • Personalized Care Plans
    No cookie-cutter protocols. Your lifestyle, goals, medical conditions, and in-person assessment shape every decision.

  • Cutting-Edge Technology
    In-house fluoroscopy, ultrasound, EMG and nerve conduction studies, allow precision diagnosis and treatment without hospital delays.

  • Locally Owned Medical Practice
    You’ll talk to an in-house receptionist for your calls, we have internal insurance authorization and billing, and are located in the main corridor of Missoula Valley for convenient accessibility.

  • Montana Roots with National Standards
    Local providers who love the Missoula lifestyle yet practice at the highest national benchmarks.

Your Pathway: From Consultation to Recovery

  • Initial Consultation & Assessment
    We listen to your story, review prior imaging, and conduct focused physical exams to understand current limitations to your daily life.

  • Diagnostic Testing
    If needed, we order advanced imaging, nerve conduction testing, or perform diagnostic blocks to determine the exact pain generator.

  • Personalized Treatment Blueprint

    Together, we map out step-by-step solutions—procedures, lifestyle changes—so you know what to expect and when.

  • Interventional Procedure
    All treatments are outpatient and completed in less than an hour. You leave with clear post-care instructions and direct contact info for your care team.

  • Rehabilitation & Follow-Up
    Our physicians monitor your progress, collaborate with physical and occupational therapists, and celebrate milestones with you.

  • Long-Term Wellness
    We continue regular check-ins to fine-tune your plan, reduce medication reliance, and keep you doing what you love—hiking the Bitterroots, skiing Snowbowl, or simply playing with your kids without hesitation.

Contact Us

Lasting pain relief begins with a simple conversation. Reach out now to schedule your comprehensive evaluation and see how Interventional Pain Management in Missoula MT, can help you live, work, and play without limits.

Not sure where to start? Contact us today or request an appointment online. We’ll pinpoint the source of your discomfort, flag any risk factors, and map out a clear plan to keep you pain-free and active for years to come.

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FAQs

No, but it can be uncomfortable.

Interventional pain medicine uses image-guided, minimally invasive procedures—like injections or nerve ablations—to treat chronic pain at its source rather than relying solely on long-term medications.

Most treatments at our Interventional Pain Medicine Clinic in Missoula MT are outpatient and last 20–45 minutes, with patients walking out the same day.

In most cases, yes. We work with Medicare and all major private insurers. Our billing unit verifies coverage and obtains pre-authorization before any procedure.

All medical procedures carry some risk, but image guidance and sterile technique minimize complications. Your physician will review potential side effects specific to your treatment.

Bring your shorts or T-shirt if you’re having an EMG, no lotion that day, your drivers license and current medical insurance information.

Results of the test will be sent to the referring provider and you’ll follow up with that provider.