unique pain doctor in walnut creek
I became a doctor after being a patient first.
After seven knee surgeries in my early twenties, I couldn’t straighten or bend my knee or sit comfortably in a chair. My orthopedic surgeon did everything he knew how to do. I had so many questions without any answers.
Thanks to an open-minded physical therapist, I sought care outside of Western medicine. I found acupuncture, herbal medicine and yoga, and went back to skiing again. That experience left me with a question: why is Western medicine so separated from traditional modalities that have been healing people for thousands of years?
How I Got Here
That question led me to found an integrative medicine center in San Francisco, before I attended medical school. My work with integrative medicine, lead me to discover osteopathy, a philosophy of medicine that honors the body’s innate ability to heal. I also trained in reiki and massage therapy, to develop a kind of intuition that doesn’t come from a textbook.
I earned my Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Touro University (2011), completed my residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mount Sinai in New York (2015), and my fellowship in Pain Medicine at UC San Diego (2016). I became a certified acupuncturist along the way, because I had already experienced its power firsthand.
When You Come to See Me
I am not your traditional pain medicine doctor. I not going to start from your diagnosis. I am starting with you.
I want to understand your full picture: your history, your imaging, your prior treatments, and the life you are trying to get back to. I look at how you move, how your spine and joints are aligned, what your nervous system is doing, and what else might be contributing to what you are feeling. Pain, weakness, and immobility are rarely due to just one thing, and we will look at all of the angles together.
From there, we review treatment options, drawing on the evidence where it is strong, and discussing honestly where it is still evolving. My background in PM&R, interventional pain medicine, osteopathic principles, regenerative medicine, and integrative practice all inform how we build a plan that works for you.
If You’ve Been Told There’s Nothing More to Do
I do not accept that as a starting point. Healing is not just about returning to what you were. It is about understanding your body well enough to move forward with more knowledge, clarity and confidence than you had before.
I would be honored to be part of that process with you.
Beyond the Clinic
I stay up-to-date on the latest research and standards of care by staying involved outside of the clinic. I teach as an Adjunct Professor at Touro University, training the next generation of physicians. I also serve as a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME) in California and as a Medical Expert Witness on complex cases. Publications and national lectures on pain management and regenerative medicine can be found on LinkedIn.
❀ With daily gratitude,
Dr. Mikiko Murakami