Anthony Guarino, MD

Dr. Anthony Guarino is an interventional pain management specialist in our Merritt Island clinic. Double board-certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, he brings 25 years of experience and a diverse background to chronic pain patients along the Space Coast.

Dr. Guarino uses a wide variety of interventional procedures to treat all spine and major joint pain conditions. Some of the interventions he offers include trigger point injections, joint injections, epidural steroid injections, facet injections as well as facet radiofrequency neuroablations, spinal cord stimulation and targeted intrathecal drug therapy (pain pumps).

“It is a privilege to help people with chronic pain to have a better quality of life, and I endeavor to do so with the tools I have as an interventional pain management physician,” he says.

Born in Baltimore, MD, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University, and his medical degree from the University of Maryland. This was followed by a year-long internship in Internal Medicine at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. He completed his residency in Anesthesiology and Fellowship in Pain Management at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Before beginning medical school, he earned a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School. “I spent time exploring my faith and studying it in greater depth,” he says. “I recognize the importance of a spiritual life for one’s overall health.”

Dr. Guarino was recruited to direct pain management services for Washington University at Barnes Jewish West County Hospital in St. Louis, MO. While there, he led research that helped make injections safer for patients. Part of study showed how to inject different types of steroids so patients have fewer complications. The research results have been adapted by the entire pain management community.

A nationally recognized lecturer, speaker and expert witness in legal cases, he has written one book called Get Your Lower Back Pain under Control – and Get on with Life.

He spent 21 years in the St. Louis area before coming to PPOA. A former high school and college athlete, Dr. Guarino remains extremely active. He is an avid golfer, an exercise enthusiast, and he enjoys attending professional sporting events. He and his wife have four children.