Meet Dr. Chang

Dr. Eric Y. Chang is an interventional physiatrist subspecializing in the treatment of pain, sports, and wellness. His practice offers a variety of treatments for neuropathic, musculoskeletal, and neuromuscular pain conditions. He treats non-operative neck and low back pain, spasticity, myofascial pain, scoliosis/kyphosis, compression fractures, sciatica, and neuropathic pain conditions. Dr. Chang performs a multitude of interventional procedures in the neck and low back along with advanced procedures such as spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal drug delivery pumps. He also brings his knowledge of regenerative therapies (Plasma Rich Platelets, Stem Cells Therapy) for osteoarthritis and chronic injuries. He is also trained in electromyography. His special clinical and research interests are neuropathic pain, spasticity, arthritis, and spinal disorders. He is also currently developing clinical studies to investigate interventional and non-interventional strategies for the treatment of chronic low back pain.

Dr. Chang completed his undergraduate at Yale University in New Haven followed by his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York with a distinction in musculoskeletal disorders. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the UCLA/Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. He then completed an Anesthesia-based ACGME Pain Medicine fellowship at UC Irvine to pursue his interest in neuropathic pain and spasticity among patients with spinal disorders. He was an Assistant Professor In-residence in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Anesthesiology & Perioperative Care, and faculty in the Reeve-Irvine Research Center from 2011 until 2015.

Dr. Chang’s basic science research interests are in investigating the pain mechanisms of low back pain and sciatica. Low back pain is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world and impacts considerably on the economy through loss of work, cost of health care, and societal support for the affected individual and their family. A common cause of back pain is from degenerative disc disease which may present with radicular pain. Currently, low back pain secondary to degenerative disc disease is not well characterized and imaging studies do not correlate with the extent of pathology. In addition, little is known about the mechanisms associated with the actual progression of degenerative disc disease and radicular pain. As a result, these patients have limited diagnosis and treatment options for their pain and disability . He received a K12 mentored career development award through the National Insitutes of Health and National Institute of Child Health & Human Development to study behavioral hypersensitivities of low back pain, using rodent models to correlate advanced degenerative disc disease and the biochemical mediators of pain in the spine.

EDUCATION/TRAINING

NIH KL-2 Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS), K-Scholar
Faculty Career Development Fellowship
University of California at Irvine, Orange, CA April 2013 – March 2015

NIH K-12 Rehabilitation Medicine Scientist Training Program, K-Scholar
Mentored Career Development Award, UCI Medical Center,
University of California at Irvine, Orange, CA August 2011- March 2013

ACGME Pain Medicine Fellowship, Pain Medicine Fellow
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care,
UCI Medical Center, University of California at Irvine, Orange, CA July 2010 – July 2011

Residency, Physical Medicine &Rehabilitation Resident
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
UCLA/ VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Multicampus,
University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA July 2007 – June 2010

Internship, Internal Medicine Preliminary
Department of Medicine, St. Barnabas Medical Center
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Livingston, NJ July 2006 – June 2007

Medical School Doctorate of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Bronx, NY August 1999 – May 21, 2006

Einstein Research Fellowship Distinction in Musculoskeletal Disorders
NYU Medical Center -Hospital for Joint Diseases,
NY, NY July 2001 – December 2003

Language Institute Chinese Language Certificate,
Fudan University, Shanghai, China Fall 1997 – Spring 1998

Undergraduate Bachelor of Arts
Yale University, New Haven, CT August 1994 – May 1, 1999