Dr. Kirk Puttlitz, MD, graduated with phi beta kappa and summa cum laude honors from State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo undergraduate, and magna cum laude honors from SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine. He completed a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and a fellowship in interventional injection based pain management procedures in York, Pennsylvania. He is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, subspecialty board certified in pain medicine, and a member of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.

Dr. Puttlitz uses a combination of physical therapy, medications, and the latest technology, such as fluoroscopically (“x-ray”) guided injections and procedures to diagnose and treat painful conditions. Procedures Dr. Puttlitz performs include: epidural steroid injections; facet, sacroiliac, and peripheral (knee, hip, etc.) joint injections; sympathetic nerve blocks for reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD); radiofrequency denervation; discography; and IDET (intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty).

As a nationally recognized expert in interventional pain management, Dr. Puttlitz has written several textbook chapters on painful disorders such as whiplash, cervical disc disorders, and lumbar spinal stenosis, He lectures locally and nationally on such topics as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, cervical disc disorders, and interventional pain management procedures. He served as chairman and course director for a nationally recognized cadaver spinal procedures workshop for 2004-2005 and he presently serves as faculty and planning committee member for that course, where he teaches other physicians how to perform injections for pain.

Dr. Puttlitz enjoys long distance running, writing, art, and playing guitar.