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George Drakes, MD, is a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and interventional pain management physician highly specialized in pain relief. Dr. Drakes is the Medical Director and Founder of Metro Spine PC, with offices in Clinton, Takoma Park, and Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Inspired by a family that promoted healthy living and medicine, Dr. Drakes pursued a career in Pain Medicine and Rehabilitation with a passion for impacting the lives of those living with pain. He attended Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1986 and completed his residency in 1990 at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan — a Wayne State University-affiliated hospital.

Dr. Drakes is a fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Upon completing his residency, Dr. Drakes practiced at the Reading Rehabilitation Hospital in Pennsylvania and was a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, teaching residents rotating at Reading Rehabilitation Hospital.

He has held positions as Medical Director and Chief of the Rehabilitation Division at Maryland General Hospital in Baltimore, MD, a satellite of Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Center in Pennsylvania. He was the medical director of that satellite facility from 1991 to 1993 and managed all aspects of rehabilitation, including head injury and spinal cord injuries.

Dr. Drakes later held the position of associate medical director of Rehabilitation at Greater Southeast Community Hospital while also directing his private practice, Community Physical Medicine and Pain Center, in downtown Silver Spring. 

Since founding Metro Spine Pain Centers in 1993, Dr. Drakes has continued to be active in teaching, lecturing, and inspiring others while also participating in the day-to-day care of his patients.

He held the position of Assistant Clinical Professor at George Washington University and provided medical students with hands-on learning experiences at Metro Spine Pain Centers. He is also a public lecturer on pain management in Barbados.

Dr. Drakes is also an accomplished business leader, expanding Metro Spine Pain Centers to four current office locations in the metro DC area and founding the Caribbean Pain Institute, a pain treatment center in Barbados.

When not directing Metro Spine Pain Centers and the Caribbean Pain Institute and caring for patients, Dr. Drakes holds an active interest in car restoration, playing golf, and tennis, swimming, traveling, and spending time with his wife, Wilma, and sons, G.Hudson, Alandre, and Benjamin.

MEDICAL PROFILE

Experienced, effective, knowledgeable and dedicated Physiatrist, focused on rehabilitation and nonsurgical treatment of acute and chronic pain, including arthritis; bone, nerve and muscle injuries; nervous system disorders; and sports-related injuries, among others. Work with state-of-the-art technology to diagnose the nature and extent of injuries and prescribe treatment to maximize patients’ functional outcome and restore them to the highest level of function and a pain-free life.

Fluent in Spanish (read/ write/speak)

EDUCATION

Doctor of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), Norfolk, VA 1996

BS in Physical Education, Exercise Physiology, Minor in Biology and Chemistry (cum laude)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 1989

TRAINING

Residency

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Juan, PR 1998-2001

Residency

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Internship-Trauma Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX 1996-1998

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

MEDICAL DOCTOR(PHYSIATRIST)
NATIONAL SPINE AND PAIN CENTERS
ALDIE, VA 7/2020 – Present

Responsible for opening a new center in Aldie, VA. Managing rehabilitation and pain management protocols and the practice. Preform EMG/NCS. Diagnose and treat a wide variety of acute and chronic pain disorders. Treatment using medication management, interventional pain management (cervical, thoracic, lumbar ESI, MBB, RFA, Reactive 8, and others), prolotherapy, ultrasound guided injections, fluoroscopic guided injections, Botox injections for spasticity, migraines and dystonia, electromyography guided injections, trigger point injections, orthotic prescribing and bracing. Preform independent medical evaluations. Permanent impairment ratings using the American Medical Association guidelines. Responsible for the day-to-day office operations, staff, scheduling and supplies.

MEDICAL DOCTOR(PHYSIATRIST)
TOWN CENTER ORTHOPEDICS
RESTON, VA - CENTREVILLE VA 10/2003 – 7/2020

Established and managed a rehabilitation and pain management practice. Developed and instituted protocols for better patient care and safety. Preform EMG/NCS. Diagnose and treat a wide variety of acute and chronic pain disorders. Treatment using medication management, interventional pain management, prolotherapy, platelet rich plasma, ultrasound guided injections, fluoroscopic guided injections, Botox injections for spasticity, migraines and dystonia, electromyography guided injections, trigger point injections, bracing. Proscribe orthotics and prosthetics, working with local orthotists/prosthetists. Preform independent medical evaluations. Permanent impairment ratings using the American Medical Association guidelines.

CONSULT PRIVILAGES

RESTON HOSPITAL, RESTON VA 10/2003 - Present

RESTON SURGICAL CENTER, RESTON, VA 10/2005 – 7/2020

Fluoroscopically guided intralaminar, transforaminal, facet injections and caudal injections.

MEDICAL DOCTOR (PHYSIATRIST)
MATILDE BRENES HOSPITAL, BAYAMON, PR 8/2001 – 6/2003

Inpatient consult services and hospital follow-up clinic with concentration in joint replacements, strokes, ulcers and amputations. Medical physician for the diabetic wound clinic.

MEDICAL DOCTOR (PHYSIATRIST)
ASHTAR PYSICAL THERAPY CENTER, VEGA ALTA, PR 8/2001 – 6/2003

Outpatient services focusing on diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic musculoskeletal disorders.

MEDICAL DOCTOR (PHYSIATRIST)
PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER, LAS PIEDRAS, PR 8/2001 – 6/2003

Outpatient services with concentration in musculoskeletal, chronic pain, EMG/NCS and permanent impairment
ratings.

MEDICAL DOCTOR (EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN)
SOUTHWEST MEDICAL ASSOCIATES, INC., ROCKPORT, TX 8/1997 – 6/1998

CERTIFICATIONS

Board Certified
Diplomat of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2002,2012,2022

LICENSURE

Virginia Medical license

HONORS AND AWARDS

Northern Virginia Top Doctors
Washingtonian Top Doctor 2012-2017
Patient’s Choice Award

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Academy of Pain Medicine

REFERENCES

Dr. Gaurav Bhatia, DMV Spine and Pain (571) 276-0425
Ms. Kathleen Kennedy, owner Kennedy and Co. (703) 283-3321
Dr. Thomas Fleeter, Town Center Orthopeadics (703) 407-6909
Dr. Marina Protopapas, National Spine and Pain (443) 622-5868

George Drakes, MD, is a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and interventional pain management physician highly specialized in pain relief. Dr. Drakes is the Medical Director and Founder of Metro Spine PC, with offices in Clinton, Takoma Park, and Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Inspired by a family that promoted healthy living and medicine, Dr. Drakes pursued a career in Pain Medicine and Rehabilitation with a passion for impacting the lives of those living with pain. He attended Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1986 and completed his residency in 1990 at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan — a Wayne State University-affiliated hospital.

Dr. Drakes is a fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Upon completing his residency, Dr. Drakes practiced at the Reading Rehabilitation Hospital in Pennsylvania and was a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, teaching residents rotating at Reading Rehabilitation Hospital.

He has held positions as Medical Director and Chief of the Rehabilitation Division at Maryland General Hospital in Baltimore, MD, a satellite of Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Center in Pennsylvania. He was the medical director of that satellite facility from 1991 to 1993 and managed all aspects of rehabilitation, including head injury and spinal cord injuries.

Dr. Drakes later held the position of associate medical director of Rehabilitation at Greater Southeast Community Hospital while also directing his private practice, Community Physical Medicine and Pain Center, in downtown Silver Spring. 

Since founding Metro Spine Pain Centers in 1993, Dr. Drakes has continued to be active in teaching, lecturing, and inspiring others while also participating in the day-to-day care of his patients.

He held the position of Assistant Clinical Professor at George Washington University and provided medical students with hands-on learning experiences at Metro Spine Pain Centers. He is also a public lecturer on pain management in Barbados.

Dr. Drakes is also an accomplished business leader, expanding Metro Spine Pain Centers to four current office locations in the metro DC area and founding the Caribbean Pain Institute, a pain treatment center in Barbados.

When not directing Metro Spine Pain Centers and the Caribbean Pain Institute and caring for patients, Dr. Drakes holds an active interest in car restoration, playing golf, and tennis, swimming, traveling, and spending time with his wife, Wilma, and sons, G.Hudson, Alandre, and Benjamin.

Ramani Peruvemba, MD, is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology in both anesthesiology and pain management. He currently sees patients at Pain Management Specialists in Rockville, Maryland and Silver Spring, Maryland.

Dr. Peruvemba is a native of the New York City area. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis and his medical degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla. He then completed an internship in internal medicine at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital (formerly Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester) and an anesthesiology internship at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. Afterward, he completed his residency in anesthesiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and his interventional pain management fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital, both in New York City. 

After his specialty training, Dr. Peruvemba joined Pain Management Specialists in 2000. Along with Dr. Hough, he joined Privia Medical Group in 2015 as the first speciality pain management group in Privia. Privia Medical Group is a rapidly growing network of primary care and specialty medical practices operating in a coordinated fashion to deliver high value healthcare to communities across the US.

Dr. Peruvemba's areas of expertise include chronic regional pain syndrome, spinal cord stimulation trial and implantation, intrathecal pump implantation and management, Kyphoplasty for vertebral fractures and spinal injections. He has been recognized repeatedly by his peers as a top pain management doctor in Washingtonian Magazine and Bethesda Magazine, and has been recognized by patients as a top pain doctor in Consumers' Checkbook.

Dr. Peruvemba has hospital privileges at Shady Grove Medical Center and Holy Cross Hospital, Silver Spring. Dr. Peruvemba holds leadership positions in the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Maryland Society of Anesthesiologists. He is active in his efforts to improve the value of medical care. 

Stuart Hough, MD, is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology in both anesthesiology and pain management. He is proud to provide a wide range of services to patients at Pain Management Specialists in Rockville and Frederick, Maryland. 

Dr. Hough earned his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York. He then completed his internship in internal medicine at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, New York. Upon graduating, he completed his anesthesiology residency and his pain management fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. After his specialty training, Dr. Hough served in the United States Air Force (USAF) for three years, where he directed the interventional pain management clinic at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio. 

In 2001, Dr. Hough moved home to Maryland to enter private practice and joined Pain Management Specialists. Along with Dr. Peruvemba, he joined Privia Medical Group in 2015 as the first speciality pain management group in Privia. Privia Medical Group is a rapidly growing network of primary care and specialty medical practices operating in a coordinated fashion to deliver high value healthcare to communities across the US.

Dr. Hough's areas of expertise include, spinal pain, spinal cord stimulation, Kyphoplasty, Intracept, spinal injections, cancer pain and ultrasound-guided injections. Dr. Hough has been repeatedly recognized by his peers as a top pain management doctor in Washingtonian Magazine and Bethesda Magazine, and patients have recognized him as a top pain doctor in Consumer's Checkbook. To stay abreast of the latest advances in his field, he is a member of the American Medical Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Society of Regional Anesthesia And Pain Medicine, and Maryland State Medical Society.

In addition to helping patients at Pain Management Specialists, Dr. Hough is chairman of the pain management division at Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Maryland. He also regularly trains medical students and holds a faculty appointment at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. Dr. Hough has hospital privileges at Shady Grove Medical Center, Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring) and Frederick Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Tsuji trained at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, and University of Hawaii, Manoa campuses where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, and Master’s in Biochemistry.

He moved from the tropics to the cold of Illinois where he received his Doctorate of Medicine at the Chicago Medical School. Longing for warmer climates, he entered the Naval Service and was stationed at San Diego Medical Center for his surgical internship. In the Navy, Lieutenant Commander Tsuji was the Medical Officer on USS Acadia, Senior Medical Officer on USS Fort McHenry, and the Head of Sports Medicine at Navy Boot Camp back in North Chicago.

After leaving the Navy he finished a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Sinai & Johns Hopkins before returning to milder climates. On the Big Island of Hawaii he completed an Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine Fellowship. Dr. Tsuji is Board Certified in Pain Medicine.

Dr. Tsuji trained at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, and University of Hawaii, Manoa campuses where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, and Master’s in Biochemistry.

He moved from the tropics to the cold of Illinois where he received his Doctorate of Medicine at the Chicago Medical School. Longing for warmer climates, he entered the Naval Service and was stationed at San Diego Medical Center for his surgical internship. In the Navy, Lieutenant Commander Tsuji was the Medical Officer on USS Acadia, Senior Medical Officer on USS Fort McHenry, and the Head of Sports Medicine at Navy Boot Camp back in North Chicago.

After leaving the Navy he finished a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Sinai & Johns Hopkins before returning to milder climates. On the Big Island of Hawaii he completed an Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine Fellowship. Dr. Tsuji is Board Certified in Pain Medicine.

Dr. Tsuji trained at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, and University of Hawaii, Manoa campuses where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, and Master’s in Biochemistry.

He moved from the tropics to the cold of Illinois where he received his Doctorate of Medicine at the Chicago Medical School. Longing for warmer climates, he entered the Naval Service and was stationed at San Diego Medical Center for his surgical internship. In the Navy, Lieutenant Commander Tsuji was the Medical Officer on USS Acadia, Senior Medical Officer on USS Fort McHenry, and the Head of Sports Medicine at Navy Boot Camp back in North Chicago.

After leaving the Navy he finished a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Sinai & Johns Hopkins before returning to milder climates. On the Big Island of Hawaii he completed an Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine Fellowship. Dr. Tsuji is Board Certified in Pain Medicine.

Dr. Tsuji trained at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, and University of Hawaii, Manoa campuses where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, and Master’s in Biochemistry.

He moved from the tropics to the cold of Illinois where he received his Doctorate of Medicine at the Chicago Medical School. Longing for warmer climates, he entered the Naval Service and was stationed at San Diego Medical Center for his surgical internship. In the Navy, Lieutenant Commander Tsuji was the Medical Officer on USS Acadia, Senior Medical Officer on USS Fort McHenry, and the Head of Sports Medicine at Navy Boot Camp back in North Chicago.

After leaving the Navy he finished a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Sinai & Johns Hopkins before returning to milder climates. On the Big Island of Hawaii he completed an Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine Fellowship. Dr. Tsuji is Board Certified in Pain Medicine.

Board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management. Graduate of the U. of Birmingham Med. School, UK. Active at the Harvard Postgraduate Medical Association since 2006. Founder or director of many Rehabilitation, Spine and Pain clinics. Former clinical faculty at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hopkins Medicine. Active at the Maryland State Medical Society, Montgomery County Medical Society and the International Association for Regenerative Therapy.