Pain management has become one of the fastest-growing targets for private equity investment in healthcare. A JAMA Network Open study revealed that PE-backed groups grew from employing just 0.4% of U.S. pain physicians in 2013 to over 8.2% by 2023. And that number is accelerating.
In January 2026 alone, Resolve Pain Solutions acquired Spine Diagnostic & Pain Treatment Center in Louisiana. KPMG's recent analysis identified Clearway Pain Solutions, National Spine & Pain Centers, and Capitol Pain Institute among the platforms actively expanding through add-on acquisitions. The U.S. pain management market is projected to reach $53.6 billion by 2030.
Why PE loves pain management
The fundamentals are compelling: chronic pain prevalence has risen from 20.4% to 24.3% of the population. The specialty is highly fragmented, with nearly 70% of practices having fewer than 10 providers. And the shift from inpatient to outpatient settings creates margin expansion opportunities that PE firms understand well.
What physicians should consider
If you're a practice owner being approached by PE, understand that you have one shot to choose the right partner. Running a competitive process matters enormously — both for deal economics and for protecting your clinical autonomy post-transaction.
For those already inside a PE-backed platform, the opportunity lies in driving growth through ancillary services, ASC development, and geographic expansion. The physicians who create enterprise value beyond their own production are the ones who benefit most from recapitalization events.
Having navigated this landscape firsthand at Clearway, I can tell you that the key is alignment: finding a partner whose values around physician leadership and patient care match your own. Everything else is negotiable.