Biography

Dr. DePalma is President and Medical Director of Virginia iSpine Physicians, PC where he practices Interventional Spine and Musculoskeletal Care. Dr. DePalma completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Ohio State University Medical Center in 2003 followed by his fellowship training in Interventional Spine Care at the Pennsylvania Spine Center of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.

Dr. DePalma has authored or co-authored over eighty-five articles and abstracts in peer reviewed journals and twenty-one textbook chapters. He has also edited a forty-nine chapter textbook, iSpine: Evidence Based Interventional Spine Care, and is co-editing a second textbook, Regenerative Medicine: The Intersection of Research and Experience. He serves or has served on multiple professional committees and boards for the North American Spine Society, The Spine Intervention Society, and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. DePalma is a reviewer for leading peer reviewed journals within his specialty as well as online patient education website (www.spineuniverse.com). He serves as Director of Virginia iSpine Physician’s Interventional Spine Care Fellowship program and is also Chairman and Director of Research with Virginia Spine Research Institute.

Dr. DePalma has been named by his peer physicians as a “Top Doc” in Richmond Magazine in 2008, 2011, and 2012, in Best Doctors in America 2015-2016, and in Virginia magazine in 2017. This esteemed recognition places Dr. DePalma within the top 10% of recognized physicians in this area. He is also the recipient of the 2018 Our Health Best Bedside Manner Award as well as the 2019 Medarva Patient Choice Award.

Dr. DePalma is an active spine and musculoskeletal researcher with over 18 years of clinical research experience. As a Principal Investigator he has successfully conducted various phases of  FDA regulated clinical trials for conditions such as degenerative disc disease (DDD), spinal stenosis, disc herniation, facet joint arthrosis, hip joint arthritis sacroiliac joint dysfunction, osteoporotic fractures and, more recently, knee osteoarthritis.

His research has corroborated prevalence data on chronic low back pain and has also clarified predictor variables for the source of chronic low back pain and the etiology of chronic low back pain induced by motor vehicle collision. He was the lead investigator at VCU in the largest prospective study of an innovative non-surgical technique to stabilize painful pelvic fractures in osteoporotic patients.

As an international speaker as an expert in his field, Dr. DePalma’s research has been recognized twice by the  Spine Intervention Society as the “Best Clinical Paper” and “Best Basic Science Paper”.

Dr DePalma’s Clinical Research Team includes two Sub-Investigators including his nurse practitioner and fellow physician in training, a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator, a Clinical Research Assistant, and several Clinical Research Medical Assistants. Together, the research team at Virginia iSpine Physicians, PC has over 60 Years of combined clinical research experience.