Washington Pain Center – John Dombrowski MD

I have dealt with neck, shoulder and back pain ever since undergrad, I’ve tried every kind of Doctor, ill working medications, acupuncture, trigger point shots, you name it, I tried it. Dr. Dombrowski brought back my quality of life. I am forever grateful and am now a loyal patient.

so far so goo. I have suffered with severe back pain for over 10 years. I avoid pain management because I didn’t want to take a bunch of pills. I finally decided to go after planning a trip to outer Mongolia where if I got hurt I would be out of luck. so glad I did. he listen to what was wrong. after a few injects I feel amazing. I am walking and disappointed in myself for not going soon.

Fantastic experience! I had my first appointment with Dr. Dombrowski earlier this week. I went in with herniated disk and a LOT of pain. I barely sat down after a warm and efficient welcome at the desk, when I was brought back to see the Dr. — maybe a minute or two after the appointment time (my first appointment!). He put me at ease immediately, with a combination of positive energy, professionalism and care. The procedure (epidural injection) was painless, quick and effective. As a side note, as a runner, I always look for a Doctor who is understanding helpful in identifying the safest but most aggressive timetable for a return to activity. He was very helpful in this context. I would (and will) recommend him to my friends and family.

I don’t know if I could fully express in a post how much Dr. Dombrowski has changed my life, but, I’m sure going to try.
I have been in pain due to back injuries for over 15 years. Trying to find doctor after doctor to treat my pain caused so much anxiety and pain and cost so much, in terms of money and in terms of quality of life. It affected everything, from my relationships, to my activity level, to being able to work and to set goals for my life.
From day one, Dr. Dombrowski was different to what I had come to expect from pain management doctors. He didn’t look at my alternative appearance and assume I was a junkie. He didn’t look at my crazy long history or reports from other pain doctors or my scans and judge whether or not I had a valid pain problem. I wasn’t asked to pee in a cup or pay hundreds in cash up front. He just wanted to know where my pain was so that he could make it go away. He treated me like a person, a patient — without suspicion or lectures or judgement. In short, he did what my various doctors should have done from the beginning. And, despite being a very busy guy outside of this practice, his office has always been able to be prompt and efficient in helping and in being accessible.
I have only been a patient of Dr. Dombrowski since two days before last X-​Mas and he has changed my life. I have been able to do things — active things! — that I haven’t been able to do in years and years. All my anxiety about pain and pain doctors and all the madness surrounding trying to find a doctor who seems to honestly want to help me get my life back — the way you would think all doctors should treat someone in pain — is gone. And, for the first time in a long time, I am able to look ahead and plan to do things for my life and the people whom I love without having to worry that I’m going to have to cancel or lay down for hours to recover.
Maybe this post won’t truly speak to anyone who hasn’t known what it is like to be in debilitating pain for decades and feel like it has affected every aspect of your life and, yet, be unable to find a doctor who treats you like a real person, with a real problem, who knows a real solution. For those of you who do, who’ve been in that situation for so long that it doesn’t seem like it is even worth it to hope or wish for a solution, call the office and make an appointment. Give this one more doctor a chance. I believe Dr. Dombrowski will do everything he can to change your life for the better.

Do not go to this guy under ANY circumstances. I was sent to him by my neurologist for a specific procedure; after bombarding me with dozens of irrelevant questions and feeling around on my neck for about half a minute, Dr. Dombrowski decided I didn’t need that procedure and he was going to perform something different that was not authorized by my neurologist. He didn’t even bother to look at my prescription. He is one of those cheerful bully types who will railroad you into doing something you don’t want to simply because you feel like you’re being a bad sport if you don’t do it – not a quality you want in a medical professional. Dombrowski convinced me this procedure would be less invasive and managed to insinuate that my neurologist, who I trust, had botched my diagnosis because «MRIs overreport by 60%.» After the procedure was done, he ushered me out the door without any time to recover; I found out later I was supposed to be given 20 – 30 minutes of rest after the procedure. To add insult to injury, the procedure he performed didn’t work, and now I have to go get the original procedure, the one prescribed by my neurologist, done (somewhere else!). I wasted an afternoon and was put through unnecessary physical pain as well as emotional unpleasantness by Dombrowski. Do NOT go to him if you can at all avoid it; you will be disappointed on all fronts by your experience.

Over the past year I have had severe lower back pain. After seeing a couple of orthopedists, and one pain specialist and being informed that my lumbar spine was really suffering signs of aging, and that the pain may be something I would have to live with, I was sent to Dr. Dombrowski, by another excellent physician, Dr. Denis Harris.
Dr. D. was so patient, listened carefully to my complaints, did a thorough exam and began a series of epidural shots. Each shot produced some improvement in a specific area. After three session, I am happy to say I am PAIN FREE. While I understand that eventually the pain may return, because the good doctor is also very good at communicating what is going on and what is is doing to try and fix it, I am a happy, active person today and know that in the future i can place my trust in his capable hands.
He also has a wonderful, knowledgeable and very helpful office staff who added significantly to this good experience. Thanks to all.

Dr. Dombrowski is recognized as the very best in his field and we think he is excellent. He’s a brilliant doctor with a dynamic personality. He is compassionate and understands a patients experience when in pain. My husband is a patient and had been doing very well for a long time but recently started having severe pain in a new location. Of course it’s happening over the weekend, we had plans to go away and my husband knew he needed to get to Dr. Dombrowski quickly. He noticed the website indicated 24 hour service and called… Dr. Dombrowski responded! Not only did he tell my husband not to worry, that he’d take care of him but due to his current condition, he could come in first thing Monday morning. We were relieved to say the least. Dr. Dombrowski, as always, spent time explaining what was happening to cause the pain and what to expect during the treatment administered that morning. He’s interactive throughout the treatment time so that the patient is always informed and put at ease. Here we are a few hours later and my husband feels much better and feels grateful to have Dr. Dombrowski as our doctor. The office staff is courteous and professional. We highly recommend Dr. Dombrowski.