Dr Athmaja Thottungal is an internationally recognised Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Medicine specialist with nearly three decades of experience across the NHS and international healthcare systems. She is widely regarded as a visionary leader, educator, and clinical innovator, committed to delivering safe, advanced, and holistic care for patients with complex surgical and chronic pain conditions.

Dr Thottungal’s clinical expertise spans advanced regional anaesthesia, neuromodulation, and integrated lifestyle medicine. Her approach combines cutting-edge interventional techniques with preventive and lifestyle-based strategies to optimise patient outcomes and support long-term wellbeing. She also holds a dual qualification as a Lifestyle Medicine Physician and certified health coach, enabling her to address physical pain alongside emotional and lifestyle factors.

A highly respected educator, Dr Thottungal is Vice Chair and faculty for the ESRA Diploma in Pain Medicine examination and serves as an examiner for FIPP and CIPS (World Institute of Pain). She is a regular invited speaker at national and international conferences on topics including persistent post-surgical pain, neuromodulation, nutraceuticals, and the role of the gut microbiome in pain management. Her leadership roles include Chair of the ESRA Perioperative Pain Optimisation Working Group, Pain Lead for RA-UK, and Course Director for the London Society of Regional Anaesthesia. 

Previously, Dr Thottungal was the Trust Clinical Lead for Pain Management at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, where she developed and led multidisciplinary pain services and successfully reinstated neuromodulation locally. She has received numerous accolades, including ESRA’s “Best Pain Management Educator 2024,” leadership awards at EKHUFT, and community champion awards in Kent and Medway. 

Dr Thottungal is actively involved in research and innovation. She is Principal Investigator for an Innovate UK-funded study exploring virtual reality and trans-auricular vagus nerve stimulation for chronic shoulder pain. She has led service-transforming quality improvement projects, such as introducing low-volume superior trunk blocks with neuromodulation for shoulder arthroplasty and pioneering novel sensory knee blocks for knee replacement surgery. Her work focuses on opioid-sparing perioperative pathways and translational research to improve long-term surgical outcomes. 

An accomplished author, Dr Thottungal has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on anaesthesia and pain management, including enhanced regional anaesthesia strategies and novel block techniques. She remains deeply committed to community and value-based initiatives, championing wellbeing for both patients and healthcare professionals.

Clinical Interests

• Ultrasound-guided pain interventions and regional anaesthesia
• Transitional pain medicine and neuromodulation
• Holistic pain care and lifestyle medicine

• General Medical Council
• Royal College of Anaesthetists
• Faculty of Pain Medicine
• European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy (ESRA)
• World Institute of Pain
• British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) / International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM)
• Regional Anaesthesia UK (RA‑UK)
• London Society of Regional Anaesthesia
• Institute for Integrative Nutrition