My Experience at the 10th SARPS Congress on Pain, New Delhi (2025)
- Anirudh Pai
- Sep 28
- 5 min read
From September 25th to 27th, 2025, I had the privilege to attend the 10th SARPS Congress on Pain, organized by the South Asian Regional Pain Society (SARPS) and the Indian Society for Study of Pain (ISSP), in association with the International Association for Study of Pain (IASP), in New Delhi, as a Sponsored Delegate. This year's theme was "Patient Centric Pain Management" and it brought together clinicians, researchers and educators from across the globe.
I came across a flyer about this in my alma-mater Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru WhatsApp alumni group, where it was mentioned that they were offering sponsored participation for budding pain physicians. Well... I thought "ain't I one?". Wrote a mail to the organizers expressing my interest in attending the congress, and briefly about what I have been doing in pain, and rest is history! So, I would like to first thank SARPS as well as INTAS for sponsoring my participation in the Pain congress.
My congress journey started with a pre-conference workshop - Radiofrequency Ablation in Chronic Pain Management. It was held at the Delhi Pain Management Centre, where the brilliant Dr. G.P. Dureja and Dr. Dhruv Bibra led the sessions, along with other experienced faculty.
To be honest, as an anesthesiologist, I had almost no exposure to radiofrequency ablation (RFA). It wasn’t something I studied during my training or after. Well... I only knew enough to pass the MD exams :P
It was MIND-BLOWING to see the kind of things that are being done with RFA in pain management. The workshop was a one-day event. The first half was all about getting us familiar with the basics - the physics, the equipment, the different techniques, indications, contraindications, and more. In the second half, there were live demonstrations of RFA of the Gasserian ganglion (trigeminal ganglion) for trigeminal neuralgia, medial branch ablation for lumbar facet pain, RFA of the sacroiliac joint, RFA of the genicular nerves for knee osteoarthritis pain, and also demonstrated how cryoablation works.
For those of you who don't know how RFA works, here's the basic gist of it:
Continuous RFA - an insulated probe with just the tip uninsulated, is placed where the ablation is planned. High frequency current is administered (think 100kHz!). A small area around the tip will get heated up. A thermocouple at the tip measures the temperature. Higher risk of tissue charring if administered for long durations or with high currents.
Pulsed RFA - probe similar to the continuous one, but the current is not continuous. Instead, it's administered in pulse. Temperatures won't be as high (or even near body temperature), but basically, this results in neuromodulation of the surrounding nerves.
Cooled RFA - similar to continuous RFA, except there'll be continuous movement of water through the probe. Can be administered for longer durations than continuous, and larger area of ablation may be achieved.
Each of these types have their own indications, benefits and drawbacks. But overall, pretty cool, eh? Hopefully, I'll be able to use it in my practice soon.
Next, the main event - the actual SARPS congress!
It was truly an honour to be in the presence of such great minds in the field of Pain. I would watch these webinars on PERC (IASP's educational platform), and be in awe, thinking of such cool things that are being studied and done in the field of pain.
The SARPS congress had eminent speakers and delegates from various countries, disseminating their knowledge.
Key takeaways from the Scientific sessions being -
Basic sciences in Pain Medicine - refreshing fundamentals in pain; anatomy, physiology, pharmacology.
Plenary sessions by Dr Andrew Rice (President, IASP) and Dr Mary Cardosa (President-elect, IASP), on NeuroPSIG updates, and Pain Education and Management in low and middle income countries, respectively.
Interesting sessions on management of various pain conditions like Fibromyalgia, Neuropathic pain, Cancer pain.
Thought-provoking debates on use of cannabinoids in pain management.
Applications of Regenerative medicine in chronic pain (shoutout to NCRM NICHE for introducing me to this worderful world of stem cells and regenerative medicine, back in 2017!).
You won’t believe the talks I attended at this pain symposium! They were all super helpful, especially the ones on Pain Education opportunities abroad. Dr. Vivek Mehta’s presentation was exactly what I needed to know about.
Then there was Dr. Michael Nicholas from Australia, who talked about Pain Management beyond Pharmacotherapy and Interventions. His work and contributions to the field of pain were truly inspiring. I aspire to be like him someday! :’)
Another talk that really caught my attention was by Dr. Adeiva Elena from Russia. It was about the diagnostic dilemmas faced while managing rare nerve entrapment syndromes. The talk structure was really innovative. She presented in a 'how to fail at diagnosis' format, which was fun! It also made me think about how much more I have to learn about assessing various conditions.
Dr. Zulfugar Yusifov from the Baku Pain Clinic in Azerbaijan gave a talk on the role of dynamic ultrasound musculoskeletal examination in pain assessment. It was really enlightening. I had only read about it, but his demonstrative videos were eye-opening. Again, there’s so much more I have to learn!
And of course, no pain symposium is complete without a discussion on AI applications. Dr. Ravi Shankar Sharma from AIIMS Gorakhpur highlighted how AI can help us manage patient data and the high patient load in India. Privacy concerns were also raised, and it’s high time we came up with SOPs for patient data management in India.
Finally, the case-based discussions moderated by Dr. Dhruv Bibra and Dr. Megha Pruthi put our knowledge of pain to the test. We covered everything from history and examination to investigations, management, differentials, and followup care. It was a very last session of the conference, and unfortunately, not many people got to participate in this lively, information-packed, and brainstorming session.
A Special Moment: the Quiz!
One of the best parts of the congress for me was taking the Quiz on Pain Medicine (by the way, Dr Yeshwanth Damalapati, I miss our quiz days together!). I was so excited to compete with the delegates from the SARPS countries and come in third place. It was a great feeling, and it reminded me that learning can be so much fun!
Not gonna lie… I have been relentlessly doing whatever I can to increase my knowledge in Pain. Hours and hours of studying… not really knowing what to study, and where to study from. And especially since I quit from my post as a Senior Resident in Anaesthesiology at KSHEMA, it’s been a roller coaster. I was glad to have been part of this conference, because I could actually feel the change in my perception of the vast field of pain.
Attending the 10th SARPS Congress on Pain was a milestone in my journey as an anaesthesiologist transitioning towards pain medicine specialization. It offered me:
Exposure to national and international experts and their cutting-edge practices.
Practical skills through workshops of highest quality.
A platform to test and benchmark my knowledge through the quiz.
And finally, a wonderful networking opportunity!
I had the chance to meet some incredible people, and the biggest names in the field were more than happy to lend a hand and guide me on my path to becoming a successful pain physician.
Until next time!
Comments