Pain management · Leesburg
Drug-free pain management for Leesburg, without a prescription pad.
What non-opioid pain care involves, which problems it suits, and how to decide whether it is a reasonable next step for you.
Treated by Dr. Christopher Cheshire, MS, AP, LAc, DOM, NCCAOM board certified, 22 years in The Villages. Medical oversight by Dr. Thomas Phipps, MD. Meet the providers
In short: Drug-free pain management for Leesburg FL patients: back, joint, nerve and tendon pain. No opioids, MD oversight, 20 minutes away. Call 352-430-2720. What non-opioid pain care involves, which problems it suits, and how to decide whether it is a reasonable next step for you.
Where drug-free pain care fits
Most Leesburg patients who call us are somewhere in the middle of a familiar sequence. An anti-inflammatory helped a little. Physical therapy helped while they were going. A steroid injection helped for a while and then did not. Nobody has suggested surgery yet, or surgery has been suggested and they do not want it.
That is precisely the gap this kind of care is for. We do not prescribe pain medication of any kind and we do not manage narcotic regimens. What we do is identify what is generating the pain and treat that structure directly: mechanical stimulus for tendon, laser for tissue that is healing slowly, needling and point injections for a sensitized nerve or an entrenched trigger point, and movement to keep the gain.
Dr. Christopher Cheshire, MS, AP, LAc, DOM, is NCCAOM board certified and does the treating. Dr. Thomas Phipps, MD, provides the medical oversight that makes injectable treatment possible in this setting.
If the plan has no endpoint and no checkpoint, it is not a plan. Ours has both, and we will say out loud when it has not worked.
Options compared, honestly
How the usual pain management routes differ. None of these is universally better — the right one depends on what is actually wrong.
| Approach | Best suited to | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-inflammatories | Acute flares and inflammatory pain | Limited use long term, particularly with kidney, stomach, or cardiac history |
| Steroid injection | A clearly inflamed joint or bursa | Relief can fade; repeated injections have tissue costs |
| Physical therapy | Weakness, deconditioning, movement faults | Needs consistency; can stall if the pain source is not addressed |
| Opioid medication | Short term severe or post surgical pain | Not appropriate for most chronic pain. We do not prescribe it |
| Acupuncture and point injections | Sensitized nerve pain, trigger points, chronic musculoskeletal pain | Needs a fair four to six visit trial |
| Shockwave therapy | Chronic tendinopathy that has stopped improving | Uncomfortable during treatment; not for acute injury |
| Surgery | Structural problems that will not resolve otherwise | Recovery time and risk; worth exhausting the alternatives first where safe |
How we would handle your case
- Consultation, free, twenty minutesAn exam and an opinion. If you need imaging or a surgical assessment before anything else, we say so and send you back.
- Identify the driverTendon, nerve, joint, or guarding pattern. This determines the treatment. It is the step most often skipped elsewhere.
- Weekly treatment at firstLeesburg patients usually come weekly. Early 7 AM slots make the drive up 27 or 441 painless.
- Measure, then decidePain level, range of motion, walking distance, and sleep against baseline at four to six visits. Improving, we space visits out. Not improving, we stop.
What we will not do
No opioid or narcotic prescribing. No claims to cure arthritis or regenerate a nerve. If your pain needs a surgeon, a rheumatologist, or a pain medicine physician, we will name that at the consultation.
From Leesburg to the clinic
Highway 27 or 441 north through Fruitland Park and Lady Lake, then Old Camp Road — around twenty minutes outside of season traffic, and reliably quick at 7 AM.
Free parking directly outside Suite 162, ground floor, step-free entry. Patients also come from Tavares, Eustis, and Fruitland Park.
910 Old Camp Road, Suite 162, The Villages, FL 32162 · Mon–Thu 7 AM–3 PM, Fri 7 AM–12 PM · Directions
Common questions
Do you prescribe anything for pain?
No. This is a drug-free practice. If medication management is what you need, we will tell you to see a pain medicine physician.
Does insurance cover this?
See the insurance page.
Is acupuncture painful?
The needles are much finer than anything used for injections or blood draws. Most patients describe a dull heaviness rather than pain, and many fall asleep.
What if I have already had injections?
That is common and it does not disqualify you. Having failed one approach does not mean you will fail a different mechanism.
How do I start?
Call 352-430-2720 and ask for the free consultation. No referral is needed in Florida.
Patient Reviews
What patients say on Google.
Dr. Cheshire is rated 4.6 of 5 on Healthgrades from 11 patient ratings as of October 2026 (Healthgrades profile). The quotes above are from Google.
Further reading: NIH NCCIH: chronic pain in depth · MedlinePlus: chronic pain.
Start Here
Twenty minutes north, twenty minutes free.
Bring your imaging and your list of what has already been tried. You will leave with an opinion either way.