The subspecialty of interventional pain management aims to help patients who are suffering from all types of pain by using invasive interventions. This may include anything from nerve blocks to implantable drug delivery systems to spinal cord stimulation. This kind of treatment is often helpful for patients who have long-lasting pain that cannot be easily managed with medication or other means of pain management. Therefore, these treatments are usually reserved for those with serious pain problems.

Interventional radiology, which is also referred to as vascular and interventional radiology, uses minimally invasive radiology both to treat and diagnose diseases, disorders, and other problems a wide variety of patients may face. Generally, doctors in this subspecialty want to make the procedures they perform as minimally invasive as possible, as this reduces the possibility of other problems and complications. Physicians usually learn about interventional radiology while they are completing their residencies.