Our experienced physicians, nurses, and supporting staff are here to help.
Dr. Benjamin Henkle is board certified in pain management and physiatry. He is the Medical Director of the Pain Management Center.
Dr. Henkle has been studying the connection between the body and mind since his undergraduate years at The Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN where he majored in neurobiology and physiology with a minor in psychology. He graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors.
After college, Dr. Henkle went to Indiana University School of Medicine and continued on at IU for residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He became interested in restoring function and quality of life in chronic pain patients and completed an ACGME-accredited Pain Management fellowship with a focus on multidisciplinary approaches. After completing training, he settled in Eastern Massachusetts where he began treating patients in the greater Lowell community.
Dr. Henkle specializes in exceptional care for patients suffering from chronic neck/back pain, nerve pain, cancer pain, and acute and chronic orthopedic injuries.
Dr. Alexandra Adler is a board certified pain management specialist and anesthesiologist.
Dr. Adler graduated from Yale University in 2007 Magna Cum Laude with distinction with Phi Beta Kappa honors. She was awarded a Gates Cambridge Fellowship and studied at the University of Cambridge from 2007-2008, graduating with a Master of Philosophy in Biological Sciences. She then returned to Yale School of Medicine to complete her medical degree. She did her residency training in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and continued on at MGH for a fellowship in chronic pain that emphasized a multidisciplinary approach to pain. She joined the Pain Center team in 2020.
Dr. Adler splits her time between Lowell General Hospital and the Pain Center. Her goal is to provide exceptional, comprehensive care to a wide variety of patients experiencing both acute and chronic pain. She enjoys working in a community practice while maintaining an interest in research and patient education. Her particular interests include pelvic pain, peripheral nerve pain, chronic back pain and non-medication options for managing and treating pain. She recently contributed to a pelvic pain guide for patients.
Tamra Brennan is a certified Nurse Practitioner working in the Pain Management Center. Tamra graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst MA nursing program which she attended while working as a nursing assistant/secretary at both Lahey Hospital in Burlington MA and Spaulding Rehab Hospital in Salem MA. She minored in psychology, and graduated with honors as a member of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.
Tamra began her nursing career by taking part in a comprehensive new graduate program at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center where she worked for five years in medical surgical/cardiology and medical intensive care unit settings. She continued working while attending graduate school at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester MA, where Tamra later graduated with a Masters of Science in Nursing on the Adult/Gerontological Acute Care track specializing in Cardiovascular Medicine.
Throughout her experiences Tamra has learned that pain is a common thread in every specialty, and she began her nurse practitioner career in outpatient chronic pain management with Dr. Henkle and Dr. Dwarakanath. Tamra enjoys the challenging and rewarding experience of working with patients experiencing acute and chronic pain. She works diligently to include other complementary alternative options such as physical therapy and exercise programs to promote overall health and wellness for all of her patients. She specializes in medication management, joint injections, and Botox injections.
Alex Bente is a certified Physician Assistant working in the Pain Management Center. Alex grew up on the West Coast and graduated from Scripps College with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience. She attended PA school at the University of Southern California and graduated in 2010.
Early in her career, Alex worked in women’s health, in gynecology then in maternal fetal medicine. After moving to Massachusetts in 2018, she worked as the Clinical Solutions Manager at Radial Analytics. There, she helped develop, implement, and train hospital-based users on Smart Placement and Smart Placement Hospice.
Alex became interested in pain management after her experience with headaches and neck pain, for which she received significant relief with the help of a pain management clinic. She is excited to join the team at the LGH Pain Management Center and hopes she can provide her patients with similar results.
Alex is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA). Her areas of interest are medication management, Botox for chronic migraines, trigger point injections, and intrathecal pump management.
Libby is a certified therapy dog who volunteers at the Lowell Pain Management Clinic bringing joy to people in pain (and the staff). She was one of the youngest certified dogs from her organization in 2016, and was lucky enough to start off working side by side with our original therapy dog Loki to absorb some of her calm and gentle nature. Libby works hard to not let her fear of wheelchairs and walkers impede her love of cheering her friends up. She enjoys ear scratches, rolling on the grass in front of the clinic, and catching up with visitors.