David Reese O'Brien, MD

“My team specializes in the diagnosis of various spine, sports and musculoskeletal injuries and pain. We focus on minimally invasive, non-surgical treatments to improve patients’ quality of life.”

Dr. David O’Brien, Jr., is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and pain medicine. Conditions he treats include spine and sports injuries, disc herniations, joint pain, arm or leg pain and sciatica. He specializes in the non-operative evaluation and treatment of various back, neck and joint problems. He performs minimally invasive procedures, injections and tests to evaluate and treat patients with numbness, weakness or pain in their joints, arms, legs or spine.

He is an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and in the Department of Neurosurgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is chief of medical spine and the fellowship director for interventional spine and musculoskeletal medicine. Dr. O’Brien serves in multiple leadership positions for Atrium Health, including the spine center of excellence executive and steering committees.

Dr. O’Brien’s research focuses on spine and back pain.

He is the director of the only interventional spine and musculoskeletal fellowship recognized by the North American Spine Society in the Carolinas.

He has served as course chair and faculty for dozens of courses in at least 8 countries and has presented over 120 times nationally and internationally on back pain, sports injuries and healthcare policy.

Currently, Dr. O’Brien serves on the board of directors for the North American Spine Society. He was a past board member of the International Pain and Spine Intervention Society. In addition to publishing numerous articles and book chapters, he serves on the editorial board for the publications The Spine Journal and Interventional Pain Medicine.

He received his medical degree at Indiana University. He completed residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Cincinnati and a fellowship at Portner Orthopaedic Rehabilitation.

Away from work, he and his family enjoy spending time outdoors, hiking, golfing and being on the water.