Name: Dr Sally-Ann Ryder
Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine
Role: Partner, Berkshire Pain Clinic
Qualifications: BSc, MBBS, MRCP, FRCA, FFPMRCA, ILM7
Affiliations / memberships:
Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of Royal College of Anaesthetists
International Association for the Study of Pain
Dr Ryder has been a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine for over 15 years.
She strongly believes that a holistic approach is vital to successfully managing pain, and offers a comprehensive diagnostic and investigative service with access to specialist pain physiotherapy and pain psychology services. She advises on appropriate medication, physical therapy and psychological treatment as well as performing a variety of interventional procedures. She explores how pain can impact on everyday life, and helps to find ways to assist her patients in understanding the nature of their pain problem, and discusses all the options for managing the pain. Using shared decision making, she aims to find the optimal range of treatments for each particular patient.
Steroid injections
Epidurals into lower back
Facet joint injections (medial branch blocks)
Nerve blocks
Diagnostic back injections
Sacroiliac joint injections
Radiofrequency Denervation of lumbar facets, sacroiliac joints and nerve roots
Trigger point injections
Ultrasound and x-ray guided injections
Interest
Qualifications:
Dr Ryder completed her medical training at Imperial College, London, and completed her postgraduate training in anaesthesia and pain medicine in the Bristol School of Anaesthesia, working in Bristol, Bath and Gloucester hospitals. She sought further experience in pain medicine through an overseas programme in Adelaide, Australia.
In 2004, she was appointed as Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust in Reading working in anaesthesia, acute pain management and chronic pain medicine. She was awarded the Fellowship of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FFPMRCA) in 2007 and was Clinical Lead for Pain Medicine from 2007 until she left the Royal Berkshire hospital in 2015. Since that time she has continued to work in both anaesthesia and pain medicine and sees both NHS and private patients. Over the past few years she developed interest in coaching and the positive impact it can have on life and in 2014 she trained to be an executive coach and obtained her ILM7 certificate in Executive Coaching. She continues to use her coaching skills during her pain consultations.
Specialist Interests
Today, her special interests include nerve pain (neuropathic pain), CRPS, myofascial pain, scar pain,
back pain and also coaching and how coaching can help patients to achieve their goals. She explores medication, sleep, mood and possible life stresses, and through education and the power of coaching, she helps patients take back control of their life to achieve the behaviour change they are looking for to help manage their pain in the long term. In particular she helps patients explore options they may not have considered before and encourages the changes needed to help embed new lifestyle habits.
Dr Ryder strongly feels that in order to manage pain successfully, patients need a variety of options offered and discussed as appropriate such as medicines, physical therapies such as physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage, pilates, yoga as well as exploring sleep, and nutritional issues. Where necessary, she involves other experts such as physiotherapists, psychologists and wellness medicine specialists.
From an educational point of view, Dr Ryder keeps up to date with regular courses and is a Fellow of The Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, and a member of the International Association of the Study of Pain (IASP). She has lectured both locally and nationally on pain.
She lives in locally with her family and enjoys active holidays, gardening and flower arranging.
Spire Dunedin Hospital, Reading
16, Bath Road, Reading . RG1 6NS
Berkshire independent Hospital, Reading
Coley Park, Swallows Croft, Reading. RG1 6UZ
Circle Hospital Reading
100, Drake Way, Reading. RG2 0NE
Spire Dunedin: Tuesday morning
Berkshire Independent: alternate Tuesday afternoon
Circle Reading: alternate Thursday afternoon