Villanueva Institute of Pain and Spine
Why Choose VIPS for Pain Management in Burbank, CA?
Pain has a way of shrinking your world. You may stop taking the walks you used to enjoy, sitting through a workday becomes harder, and you think twice before picking up your child, going to the gym, driving across town, or making plans because you’re never quite sure how you’re going to feel.
At VIPS, Villanueva Institute of Pain and Spine, I want to understand those parts of your story, not simply ask you to rate your pain from one to ten.
I am Dr. John Villanueva, a physician double board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, or PM&R, and Pain Medicine. My multi-specialty background shapes the way I care for patients. I focus on finding the source of the pain while staying closely attuned to how it has affected your movement, independence, work, relationships, and everyday life.
Some people come to me after years of appointments and treatments, while others have been told their symptoms are psychological, that nothing is really wrong, or that they just need to live with it. By the time we meet, they may be frustrated, skeptical, or tired of telling the same story again.
That is understandable. My job is to listen, look carefully at what has already been done, and figure out where we go from here.
If you are looking for pain management in Burbank, call VIPS at (818) 669-8895 or request an appointment online.
Quick Links
- Your Pain Score Is Only Part Of The Story
- I Take The Time To Hear The Whole Story
- Double Board Certification Gives Me A Broader View Of Pain
- I Look At The Images, Not Just The Report
- Treatment Should Fit The Person Sitting In Front Of Me
- Image-Guided Procedures For Greater Precision
- Sometimes I Will Tell You Not To Have A Procedure
Your Pain Score Is Only Part of the Story
One of the things I want to know is what pain is keeping you from doing.
What would you like to get back to?
For one person, the answer might be exercising. For someone else, it may be lifting a child, walking with a spouse, sitting comfortably in the car, returning to school, or simply making it through a workday without constantly thinking about pain.
Those answers help me understand what we are actually trying to accomplish.
Chronic pain does not always disappear completely, and I believe it is important to be upfront about that. However, there can still be a tremendous difference between pain that controls your day and pain that has improved enough for you to participate in your life again.
That is why function matters so much in my practice. I want treatment to help you do more, move more comfortably, and get closer to the life you had before pain began interfering with it.
I Take the Time to Hear the Whole Story
A thorough consultation starts before I recommend a procedure.
When you send medical records ahead of your visit, I review them. I want to know what other physicians have found, what treatments you have tried, what helped, what did not, and whether any pieces of the story still do not fit together.
I perform a physical and neurological examination and ask questions that help me understand how your symptoms behave in real life. Sometimes the place that hurts is not where the problem begins. Hip pain, for example, may actually be related to the lumbar spine. Numbness, tingling, or weakness may point us toward a nerve problem that needs a closer look.
I do not want you to feel as though you have been handed off to another office where you will need to start from zero again. I want you to feel heard, believed, and treated without judgment before we discuss a treatment plan.
I Look at the Images, Not Just the Report
If you bring an MRI, CT scan, or X-ray to your appointment, I personally review the actual images whenever they are available. The radiology report is useful, but I do not stop there.
Imaging often shows several abnormalities, especially as we get older. That does not mean every finding is causing your symptoms, but I want to compare what I see on the scan with where you hurt, what movements bother you, what your neurological examination shows, and how the symptoms developed.
Looking at the full picture helps me avoid treating an MRI finding simply because it appears on the page. I personally review all X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans rather than relying only on someone else’s radiology report.
Treatment Should Fit the Person Sitting in Front of Me
I do not run every patient through the same sequence of treatments.
Depending on what I find, your care may involve physical therapy, medication management, rehabilitation, additional diagnostic testing, lifestyle changes, an image-guided injection, regenerative medicine, or another interventional treatment.
VIPS offers a wide range of options, including epidural steroid injections, medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablation, nerve blocks, joint and bursa injections, PRP therapy, spinal cord stimulation, Intracept®, the mild® procedure, and other forms of interventional pain management.
Even when two patients have the same diagnosis, their treatment plans may look different. Medical history, anatomy, symptoms, previous treatment, imaging, response to medication, activity level, and personal priorities can all influence what makes sense.
Image-Guided Procedures for Greater Precision
When I perform an injection or interventional procedure, I use imaging guidance when appropriate, so I can see the relevant anatomy and place treatment where it is intended to go.
VIPS uses fluoroscopy and ultrasound guidance for image-guided procedures.
For example, if I am considering radiofrequency ablation for facet-related pain, I first use diagnostic medial branch blocks to help determine whether those nerves are actually contributing to your symptoms. If the blocks support the diagnosis, we can then discuss whether radiofrequency ablation is a reasonable next step.
That extra diagnostic work matters.
I would rather take the time to establish that we are treating the right structure than move quickly into a procedure without enough information.
Sometimes I Will Tell You Not to Have a Procedure
A patient may come to my office asking for a specific injection because someone mentioned it, they read about it online, or it helped a friend.
Sometimes I agree that it is appropriate, and sometimes I do not.
There are situations where I review an MRI and believe an injection is unlikely to give the patient what they are hoping for. Other times, I believe a surgical consultation is more appropriate.
If that is what I think, I will say so.
To me, good pain management means giving you my best clinical judgment, including when that judgment points somewhere other than my own treatment room. I value transparency with my patients when a procedure is unlikely to help, and I refer them for surgical evaluation when the imaging and clinical picture call for it.
Clinical Research Is Part of What We Do at VIPS
VIPS is a private practice, but clinical research and medical education are an active part of our work.
We have presented our research through the American Academy of Pain Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. We also operate a Pre-Medicine and Pre-Health Internship Program that gives undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students experience with clinical medicine and research.
More than 30 interns have completed the program. Alumni have gone on to medical schools including Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, USC Keck, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis, the University of Minnesota, and others.
I enjoy teaching, but there is another reason this work matters to me. Medicine changes. Techniques change. Evidence changes. Staying involved in research keeps us asking questions rather than assuming that the way something has always been done is automatically the best way to keep doing it.
Other Healthcare Professionals Trust VIPS With Their Own Care
I treat people from all kinds of backgrounds, including patients who work in film, television, music, and other parts of the entertainment industry. I also see physicians, surgeons, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who come to me for their own care or refer members of their families.
That trust means a great deal to me.
Healthcare professionals know what thoughtful medical care looks like. They ask informed questions and understand the importance of a careful diagnosis before treatment. When they choose VIPS for themselves or someone they love, I do not take that lightly.
The same standard applies to every person who walks through our door. Your job, public profile, background, or status does not change the amount of respect or attention you receive here.
A Team That Knows Chronic Pain Care
You will also get to know the people who help keep your care moving between appointments.
Jessica Villanueva-Couette, FNP-BC, sees patients for chronic pain consultations, medication management, and follow-up care. Her training includes a Master of Science in Nursing and Nurse Practitioner education from UCLA, and she is board certified through the ANCC.
Patients have specifically commented on the time she spends listening and her ability to notice details that had been missed during previous care. The rest of our team helps with scheduling, communication, clinical support, and the practical parts of navigating ongoing pain treatment. We want you to know who you are talking to when you call and to feel comfortable reaching out when you have a question.
Our Burbank Office Feels Like Burbank
VIPS is located in Magnolia Park, and the office reflects the neighborhood.
It does not feel like a large medical complex, as we have hardwood floors, comfortable chairs and sofas, granite countertops, and original artwork created by patients who are working artists. Outside, you are surrounded by the independent shops, coffee spots, studios, and neighborhood businesses that make Magnolia Park feel like its own small community within Los Angeles.
I live in Burbank as well, so this is not simply where I opened an office. It is my community. We care for patients from Burbank, Glendale, Toluca Lake, Studio City, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena, La Cañada, Los Feliz, Hollywood, and throughout the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles area.
There Is a Personal Reason I Chose This Work
My interest in pain medicine began with my mother, who was born with severe scoliosis and underwent three spinal fusion surgeries. Even after surgery, she continued living with chronic pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness. I was young, and I did not understand why she was hurting.
I remember the helplessness of watching someone I loved struggle with symptoms that seemed difficult to explain and even harder to fix. Years later, that experience became one of the reasons I wanted to understand musculoskeletal medicine, neurology, rehabilitation, and pain at a much deeper level.
It still affects the way I practice. When someone tells me they have been hurting for years and no one seems to understand why, I know that story is bigger than a diagnosis written in a chart. I want to help make the problem less confusing and give you a reasonable path forward.
Find a Pain Management Plan That Helps You Get Back to Living
If you are looking for individualized pain management in Burbank or the surrounding Los Angeles area, call (818) 669-8895 or contact VIPS to schedule a consultation. I look forward to meeting you and hearing your story.