Alexandra Szabova, MD

I am passionate about treating pediatric chronic pain. Pain can negatively impact many facets of life. Some children lose the physical ability to participate in daily activities, such as going to school or participating in sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities. Chronic pain also takes an emotional toll on patients and their families.

Helping kids get healthy again and to live full lives is my primary motivation to be in this field. I dedicate half my time to pediatric anesthesiology and the other half to pediatric pain medicine — where I take care of infants, children, adolescents and young adults with chronic pain.

I work as part of a multidisciplinary team at the Chronic Pain Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The team includes a pain physician, a pain psychologist and a physical therapist. Our nurses and advanced practice nurses also play an active role in patient care.

Conditions we treat include:

• Abdominal pain
• Back pain
• Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS) and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Facet pain
• Headaches
• Joint hypermobility
• Musculoskeletal pain
• Radiculopathy
• Widespread pain

Our team takes a holistic approach to pain. We work together with the patient and family to address physical, emotional and psychological aspects of pain. We use the best-practice policies and evidence-based medicine to help our patients overcome the hurdles that chronic pain imposes upon them.

Our multimodal approach to pain relief means we use a variety of tools to address the many pathways where pain is processed in the body. We utilize medications, physical therapy, counseling and interventional procedures when needed.

I attend several subspecialty clinics, including those for epidermolysis bullosa, where we help with pain and pruritus (itching), as well as total pancreatectomy islet cell autotransplant (TPIAT) clinics, for kids with chronic pancreatitis and chronic abdominal pain.

In my research, I collaborate with pain psychologists to look for the best ways to treat pain. We are also looking for risk factors that cause or contribute to chronic pain and how to minimize or eliminate their effects.

I like teaching future pediatric pain doctors and attending FC Cincinnati soccer games. I enjoy the outdoors and visit Perfect North, a ski area near Cincinnati, in the winter. I also dream of going on a long road trip with my family around the country — visiting cool places and learning about their history.