Welcome Dr. Bonilla
Arizona Pain Specialists is pleased and excited to welcome our newest physician to the team, Dr. Gabriel Bonilla. A Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physician, Dr. Bonilla fits perfectly into the comprehensive Arizona Pain Specialists model.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is a specialty that fits together cohesively with the practice of pain management. PM&R physicians focus not only on curing the pain of their patients, but they are dedicated to the rehabilitation of their patients, that is, getting them back to living their lives the way they want to. Dr. Bonilla sums it up, “PM&R physicians specifically help patients who have suffered from strokes, spinal cord injuries, amputations, deconditioning, musculoskeltal injuries, nerve injuries, and many other debilitating problems. The physical medicine part of practicing focuses on solving the issue, and helping get rid of the patient’s pain. Then there is the rehabilitation part, which is reconditioning the body to recover from injuries, stroke or spinal cord damage.”
Another facet of PM&R practice is the use of Electromyography and Nerve Conduction tests, or EMGs. This test is done to see how well the nerves are conducting, basically how fast and how smoothly they send electrical signals. If the nerves are conducting slower than the standard time, it can be concluded that there is nerve damage.
“For example, if a patient has pain that is shooting down their leg, we can perform an EMG,” Dr. Bonilla says. “The patient may have weakness, reflex change or some kind of deficit, but we may not be absolutely sure what part of the back is involved, or how bad the damage is. In conducting an EMG, hard evidence can be gained that there is an impingement or damage to a nerve. This will tell a physician where exactly the treating injection will need to go to have the most benefit to the patient.”
Dr. Bonilla brings quite a bit to the Arizona Pain Specialists team. A second-career physician, Dr. Bonilla originally was an engineer for the DuPont company. After completing his education and spending a number of years as an engineer, Dr. Bonilla felt compelled to return to school and dedicate his life to becoming a physician and helping as many patients as possible. He decided to focus on physical medicine and rehabilitation as a specialty, receiving that education at the University of Virginia’s PM&R program. Spurred by his wife’s love of Arizona, Dr. Bonilla applied for jobs in the state and eventually moved his family to Flagstaff, and worked in interventional pain management, musculoskeletal injuries and EMGs. After coming to Phoenix in 2006, Dr. Bonilla began working one-on-one with another PM&R physician who specialized in interventional procedures. Through this training and education, Dr. Bonilla was able to sit for the pain medicine board exam, and is now double-board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine.
Dr. Bonilla has a long history of being a skateboarder and loving the sport. He speaks fondly of his days as a young engineer with a skateboarding ramp in his backyard that he built. Now married with two children, Dr. Bonilla is an avid mountain biker, and one of his favorite things about Arizona is the ability to mountain bike in Sedona.
Dr. Bonilla is excited to begin working at Arizona Pain Specialists and helping patients. “PM&R focuses on getting someone back on their feet, getting them back in action and back to their activities as much as possible,” Dr. Bonilla says. “If you are experiencing pain, and have tried treatments managed by a primary care physician or whoever sees you first and you’re still having problems, always consider interventional pain management. The minimally invasive procedures are very safe and are performed by experts at Arizona Pain Specialists – they have a lot of experience. Sometimes, you only get temporary relief, but if you have patience and keep trying, the solution will happen. Believing that your doctor has your best interests in mind and not giving up – it’s a winning formula.”
