EXPERT

Nichelle Renk, M.D.

Pain Management Specialist

Dr. Nichelle C. Renk is a board-certified and fellowship-trained anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist practicing in Anchorage, AK at the Algone Interventional Pain Clinic. Dr. Renk performs a thorough evaluation of a patient's symptoms, imaging, and physical exam to create an individualized plan for the patient. This may include medications, procedures, and the use of other specialists such as physical therapists, chiropractors, nutritionists, acupunturists, and functional medicine providers. Dr. Renk's goal for her patient's is to feel their best in terms of pain and overall well-being.

Learn More About Me

18 years Experience

Nichelle Renk, M.D.

Specializes in:

Pain Management
Chronic Pain
Back Pain
Neck Pain
Migraine

Anchorage, AK
Virginia Commonwealth University
Accepting new patients

My Latest Posts
My Answers

4 Expert Nutrition Hacks You Can Start Using Today

Your diet makes a huge difference in your health and wellness, both positive and negative. Eating the right foods at the right times, after preparing them with healthy cooking...

The Link Between Neck Pain and Working from Home

In the last few years, working from home has become an increasingly popular professional option. It’s convenient to skip out on a commute, and working from home also keeps costs...

4 Reasons to Include Supplements in Your Diet

You do your best to eat right and give your body the nutritional support it needs. But it can be challenging to get sufficient levels of essential vitamins, minerals, and other...

Cooled RFA for Shoulder and Knee Compared With Steroid Injections

Chronic shoulder or knee pain due to conditions like osteoarthritis reduces your mobility and limits your quality of life. Innovative interventional pain management treatments...

How to Relieve Jaw Pain Without Surgery

Your temporomandibular joints are located where your skull connects with your lower jawbone, also called the mandible. You rely on these joints to open and close your mouth, to...

Why Do My Hips Hurt When I Wake Up in the Morning?

You wake up in the morning and, instead of feeling refreshed, rested, and ready, you’re overwhelmed by an aching pain in your hips. What’s causing this morning's hip pain, and...

Ketamine for Severe Depression: What to Expect

The symptoms of severe depression, ranging from persistent sadness to sleeplessness and including constant feelings of exhaustion or loss of interest in hobbies and personal goals,...

Suffering From Chronic Migraine Pain? Here's How Botox Can Help

Migraine headaches are more common than you might realize, affecting about 12% of Americans. When you have a migraine, disabling symptoms like pain, light and sound sensitivity,...

Chronic Pain: Can Radiofrequency Ablation Help?

Chronic pain seems to echo around your body, felt everywhere and nowhere, without a clear physical cause like an injury to explain your pain symptoms. As a way to give lasting...

All of Your Treatment Options for Occipital Neuralgia

Your two greater and two lesser occipital nerves are found on each side of your head at the base of your skull. These four nerves transmit sensation to the top of your head....

Little-Known Causes of Back Pain

Does low or mid back pain keep you up at night or keep you from getting or staying active the way you’d like? You’re not alone: Back pain affects nearly all adults at some point....

What Can Low-Dose Naltrexone Treat?

Conditions like chronic pain, sleep disorders, and autoimmune conditions challenge the frontiers of interventional medicine. We continue to learn more about interventions that...

How Effective is Spinal Cord Stimulation?

Persistent chronic pain involves abnormal pain signals transmitting through your spinal cord to register as sensations in your brain. For some types of chronic pain, effective...

5 Effective Migraine Treatments

Migraine headaches are a complex chronic condition that can become disabling. At Alpenglow Pain & Wellness in Anchorage, Alaska, interventional pain management physician Dr....

Understanding Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS): Signs and Treatments

More and more people are learning about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), an inherited connective tissue disorder that often presents with overly flexible joints, stretchy skin, and...

How Stellate Ganglion Block Can Help Long Haul Covid Symptoms, PTSD, and CRPS

The role of your brain and nervous system in your health and wellness is complex and not always easy to understand. It can be hard to believe that a single type of procedure,...

Why Might I Need Supplements?

Your body needs a well-balanced, full set of vitamins and nutrients to function with optimal health and wellness. However, getting that full amount of vitamins and nutrients can...

Is Working From Home A Pain In Your Neck?

Many people are discovering the benefits of working from home. You can cut your commute, saving time and money. Working from home can also give you needed scheduling flexibility,...

4 Benefits of COOLIEF Radiofrequency Ablation

You feel pain in your brain as much as in your body, due to the way nerve signals from around your body register as sensation. For some chronic pain patients, nerve signals around...

How Acupuncture Can Alleviate Your Aches and Pains

Pain treatment can be a complex process. Figuring out the right approach or combination of approaches to manage your time takes patience, knowledge, and care. The interventional...

What is the best way to treat muscular pains after running?

Hello, This could be shin splints or stress reaction/fractures. I recommend good running shoes and avoiding hard surfaces while running. A physical therapist or orthotic expert READ MORE

Hello,

This could be shin splints or stress reaction/fractures. I recommend good running shoes and avoiding hard surfaces while running. A physical therapist or orthotic expert may be able to analyze your running gait and give you more tips.

Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

Can pain relieving drugs become addictive?

Hello, Pain relieving medications can become habit forming but most are not "addictive" per se. The classes which are more at risk for being habit forming or addictive are the READ MORE

Hello,

Pain relieving medications can become habit forming but most are not "addictive" per se. The classes which are more at risk for being habit forming or addictive are the opioids and benzodiazepines.

Sincerely,
Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

How does alternative hot and cold packs help in relieving pain?

Hello, I typically recommend heat only for chronic muscular tension and pain. Heat, magnesium in oral, liquid or epsom salt baths can reduce muscular pain and tension. Sincerely, Nichelle READ MORE

Hello,

I typically recommend heat only for chronic muscular tension and pain. Heat, magnesium in oral, liquid or epsom salt baths can reduce muscular pain and tension.

Sincerely,
Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

Abdominal pain

Hello, I am concerned about serious illnesses like appendicitis or some other GI disturbance. Please go to the ER or see your primary care doctor about this problem. For your READ MORE

Hello,

I am concerned about serious illnesses like appendicitis or some other GI disturbance. Please go to the ER or see your primary care doctor about this problem. For your low back, the pain may be referred from your abdomen or be another structure such as your lumbar facet joints or sacroiliac joint.

Sincerely,

Nichelle C. Renk, MD

My husband has frequent headaches due to work stress. What should we do?

Hello, Stress is a common problem and contributor to pain and mood. I recommend your husband takes "me-time" daily in which he meditates and deep breathes. There are now a lot READ MORE

Hello,

Stress is a common problem and contributor to pain and mood. I recommend your husband takes "me-time" daily in which he meditates and deep breathes. There are now a lot of smartphone applications that can assist with this process. Set a goal of once in AM and once in PM (perhaps when he gets home). Other ideas for this problem include seeing a pain psychologist, reading the book "Managing Pain before it Manages You" and epsom salt baths with lavender.

Sincerely,
Nichelle C Renk, MD

I have a lot of body pain especially at night. What can I do to treat it naturally?

Hello, Work on gentle strengthening through yoga, pilates, or weight machines and posture. Also, consider alternate ways of working, say seated for instance. Sincerely, Nichelle READ MORE

Hello,

Work on gentle strengthening through yoga, pilates, or weight machines and posture. Also, consider alternate ways of working, say seated for instance.

Sincerely,
Nichelle C Renk, MD

Are steroids often recommended for pain?

Hello, I prefer to avoid steroids for back pain as much as possible. There are times it is indicated and could be helpful. Some examples would be a lumbar radiculitis/radiculopathy READ MORE

Hello,

I prefer to avoid steroids for back pain as much as possible. There are times it is indicated and could be helpful. Some examples would be a lumbar radiculitis/radiculopathy which is a disc herniation causing nerve impingment and sacroilitis or inflammation of the sacroiliac joint.

Sincerely,
Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

Fibromyalgia

Hello, I recommend daily aerobic exercise such as walking or swimming for fibromyalgia. I also prescribe low dose naltrexone as well as other medications such as lyrica and cymbalta READ MORE

Hello,

I recommend daily aerobic exercise such as walking or swimming for fibromyalgia. I also prescribe low dose naltrexone as well as other medications such as lyrica and cymbalta for this problem.

Sincerely,
Nichelle C Renk, MD

What is this muscle strain?

Hello, this can happen when you have low back pain or have an injury with working out. I recommend you see your pain specialist or physical therapist for a thorough evaluation. READ MORE

Hello, this can happen when you have low back pain or have an injury with working out. I recommend you see your pain specialist or physical therapist for a thorough evaluation.

Could frequent headaches indicate something serious?

Hello, yes absolutely. Most of the time afternoon headaches are due to tension/stress, sinus fullness/infection, or occipital neuralgia. But you would want serious things ruled READ MORE

Hello, yes absolutely. Most of the time afternoon headaches are due to tension/stress, sinus fullness/infection, or occipital neuralgia. But you would want serious things ruled out such as a brain mass firstly.

Are pain relieving balms safe for kids?

Menthol based balms are safe as are arnica based gels if used in small quantities and infrequently.

How does Epsom salt help in relieving heel pain?

Epsom salts are composed of magnesium sulfate. Magnesium is a potent muscle relaxer. I am a big fan of Epsom salt baths for patients.

My husband is having pain in his abdominal area due to kidney stones. Can you recommend some medication for him?

OTC Tylenol and NSAIDs can be helpful for this pain as is hydration. For doses and appropriateness of these medications, please consult your primary care doctor.

Is there a safe medication to manage my pain before starting my menstrual period?

OTC Tylenol and NSAIDs are helpful for this type of pain. Additionally, heat to low back or lower abdomen and Epsom salt baths can be helpful.

I am experiencing pain in my facial muscles. What should I do?

Hello, You may have masseter tension due to stress, grinding, or TMJ dysfunction. A nightly mouth guard, magnesium at night, meditation/de-stressing, and a muscle relaxant can READ MORE

Hello,

You may have masseter tension due to stress, grinding, or TMJ dysfunction. A nightly mouth guard, magnesium at night, meditation/de-stressing, and a muscle relaxant can be helpful if this is the case. In some instances, botox is used to relax the masseters.

Sincerely,

Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

I have a sprain in my neck and I think it's from my pillows. How can I fix this?

Hello, Absolutely. A lot of times, pain such as the one you are describing is due to muscle tension, and heat is an excellent muscle relaxant. I also like chelated magnesium READ MORE

Hello,

Absolutely. A lot of times, pain such as the one you are describing is due to muscle tension, and heat is an excellent muscle relaxant. I also like chelated magnesium glycinate at night and Epsom salt baths for this problem as well.

Sincerely,

Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

I have severe back pain during my periods. Please help.

Hello, This is common. It is the referral pattern of the uterus to the back. ou may have a retroverted uterus. NSAIDs, such as Ibuprofen and Tylenol, and heat are helpful for READ MORE

Hello,

This is common. It is the referral pattern of the uterus to the back. ou may have a retroverted uterus. NSAIDs, such as Ibuprofen and Tylenol, and heat are helpful for this problem. Also, consider seeing your gynecologist for workup of possible PMDD.

Sincerely,

Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

My core is feeling sore and painful after a weight work out. What should I do?

Hello,

I am concerned you may have rhabdomylolysis. I recommend seeing your primary care doctor and asking for a creatine kinase.

Sincerely,

Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

I have a lot of body pain by the end of the day, mainly due to my weight. What should I do?

Hello, Have you tried working out in the morning or at lunch? Try walking and swimming to start and work your way up to more vigorous exercise. I recommend the Paleo diet and READ MORE

Hello,

Have you tried working out in the morning or at lunch? Try walking and swimming to start and work your way up to more vigorous exercise. I recommend the Paleo diet and Ketogenic diet for weight loss.

Sincerely,

Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

My fingers hurt after playing tennis. Is this normal?

Hello, This could be a tendon or a nerve problem. For instance, if you have carpal tunnel syndrome or an ulnar neuropathy, you can have severe pain after using your hands/arms. READ MORE

Hello,

This could be a tendon or a nerve problem. For instance, if you have carpal tunnel syndrome or an ulnar neuropathy, you can have severe pain after using your hands/arms. See your primary care doctor or pain doctor for an evaluation.

Sincerely,

Nichelle C. Renk, M.D.

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