Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome (AMPS) is a condition that can result in pain anywhere in the body. The pain can occur in either sporadic or regular spells. While it can be caused by illness, AMPS is more often detected alongside inflammatory conditions. Those conditions could include arthritis, myositis, enthesitis, or tendinitis. AMPS can also be the result of psychological stress, or occur after injury or surgery. Children with AMPS can experience profound mental stress and physical pain.

Pain from AMPS can affect the entire body or be limited to specific areas. The amplified pain is the result of an abnormal short circuit in the spinal cord, which causes pain to go to the neurovascular (“flight or fight”) nerves. Those nerves then cause the blood vessels to constrict, restricting blood flow and oxygen to muscles and bones.

While children with AMPS may experience difficulty completing everyday tasks, treatment options are available.

Our Team

An experienced, interdisciplinary care team works with each patient and family to manage a child's pain by promoting healthy daily functioning and pain coping skills using an interdisciplinary rehabilitation model. Our team includes:

  • Pediatric pain fellowship-trained physician
  • Child psychiatrists
  • Pediatricians
  • Pediatric rehabilitation physicians
  • Pediatric psychologists/cognitive behavioral therapists
  • Physical therapists
  • Neuropsychologists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Social workers
  • Care coordinators
  • Case managers
  • Educators
  • Child life specialists
  • Nurses/nurse practitioners
  • Therapeutic recreation specialists

Our Treatment Approach

We offer a multimodal approach to pain management that includes:

  • Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy  (e.g. deep controlled diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, interactive distraction, guided visual imagery, cognitive restructuring, biofeedback, mindfulness, meditation)
  • Physical Therapy (functional, manual and visceral therapies, heat/cold)
  • Occupational therapy (activities of daily living)
  • Non-narcotic pain medications
  • Interventional pain procedures under sedation
  • Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
  • Other novel and emerging treatment modalities for pain management

As one of the few hospitals in the country to offer interventional pain services for children guided by imaging in an operating room, we offer the following procedures:

  • Epidural steroid injections
  • Facet joint injections
  • Sacroiliac joint injections
  • Piriformis injections
  • Muscle and joint injections
  • Occipital nerve blocks
  • Abdominal blocks (e.g., transverse abdominis plane [TAP] and rectus sheath blocks)
  • Intercostal nerve blocks
  • Sternum injections
  • Bursa injections
  • Scar injections
  • Peripheral nerve blocks
  • Trigger point injections