A passion for pain management.
Pain West Spine + Pain Center is available at think to help you regain your quality of life with a specific treatment plan based on your individual needs. Led by Dr. Kevin Balter, a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management specialist with three decades of experience, Dr. Balter offers hope, compassion, and cutting-edge care to those ready to take their lives back from pain.
Pain West specializes in treating a wide range of medical conditions, focusing on musculoskeletal issues such as chronic back, neck, and joint pain including osteoarthritis, as well as injuries from sports, work, or auto accidents, and post-surgical recovery. They offer treatment and pain management solutions that get to the heart of chronic pain. As a team, they are passionate about helping those whose lives have been interrupted by chronic pain to become whole again. With offices located in Papillion and think, Dr. Kevin Balter and his team can diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate individuals dealing with chronic pain. Their goal is not merely to mask the pain you feel but to get to the root cause, eliminating the problems that cause your discomfort. It’s time to get back to living your life rather than sitting on the sidelines with the help of Pain West.
What Is Pain Management?
At Pain West, pain management is a personalized medical specialty aimed at easing physical and emotional suffering and helping patients live more vibrant, functional lives, with services offered at Think Whole Person Healthcare. The clinic addresses pain’s root causes, embracing conditions like fibromyalgia with innovative treatments while prioritizing safety by favoring low-risk options over surgeries or long-term opioids. It’s a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach, treating everything from chronic back pain and migraines to sciatica and long COVID symptoms, supported by a team that includes an addictionologist for compassionate care, even for those with complex histories.
It’s not just about masking pain—it’s about listening, validating, and empowering you to reclaim your life with safe, compassionate care solutions.
Pain West treats nearly every type of pain, from migraines and diabetic neuropathy to back pain, arthritis, and cancer-related discomfort. “We cover pain from head to toe,” Dr. Balter says. Some common conditions include:
- Chronic headaches including migraines
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Back and neck spine pain
- Joint pain including arthritis, even after joint replacement surgery
- Nerve pain and sciatica
- Fibromyalgia
- Pain that has persisted despite surgery, such as failed back surgery syndrome, even when the imaging test results come back normal
- Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain
- Recurrent abdominal pain from pancreatitis
- Cancer pain
- and more
Who is Dr. Kevin Balter, MD
Dr. Balter’s path to pain management is deeply personal. Trained at Johns Hopkins for his Pain Management Fellowship and Mount Sinai Medical Center for his Anesthesiology Residency, he brings a wealth of expertise to his role at Pain West. But it was a family experience that truly shaped his career. “While I was in medical school, my aunt suffered from chronic pain due to Parkinson’s disease,” he recalls. “Her doctors dismissed her complaints because they didn’t realize Parkinson’s could be painful. She was miserable, and her suffering was ignored.”
That experience hit hard. Fortunately, Dr. Balter discovered the emerging field of pain management, which emphasized taking patients’ pain seriously—even when the cause wasn’t fully understood. He ensured his aunt saw a specialist who recommended an implanted pump delivering morphine directly to her spine. “It changed her life,” he says. “She lived out her days essentially pain-free and happy. That inspired me to dedicate my career to helping others reclaim their lives from pain.”
Today, Dr. Balter practices at Pain West and serves as an assistant professor at Creighton University School of Medicine, training the next generation of physicians in compassionate, comprehensive pain care.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PAIN WEST AND ITS SERVICES
Visit the Pain West Website or call 402.505.7989.