Portrait: Vernon Williams

Vernon Brian Williams

MD
Professional Focus Dr. Vernon Williams is board certified in Neurology specializing in pain management, concussions, mild traumatic brain injury, overuse syndromes, headaches, and neurological disorders in athletes. Dr. Williams’s medical interests include pain medicine and chronic headaches and migraines and their management.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Williams earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital and a residency in Neurology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He also completed a fellowship in Pain Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. U.S. News ranks Johns Hopkins Hospital as one of the top three hospitals in the nation for 2019-2020.

Currently Dr. Williams serves as the Founding Director of the Center for Sports Neurology and the Sports Neurology Fellowship at Kerlan-Jobe Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine as well as the Director of the Pain Management Department at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic.

Dr. Williams’s research focuses on concussions, emergencies in sports, baclofen management, entrapment neuropathies, and central pain. He has studied and written several research publications, has been an invited key speaker for over 100 national conferences, and has been the primary investigator of many clinical trials relating to his specialty.

Member survey feedback:
“Dr. Williams was very knowledgeable and caring. He explained in a way that was easy to understand. I've seen two previous neurologist who only told me what wasn't happening, Dr. Williams helped me explore what could be happening and if it was he thought it might be, how it could be dealt with.“
Honors & Awards Consulting Team Physician to the Los Angeles Rams, Lakers, Dodgers, Kings, Sparks, KISS, Anaheim DucksTeam HEAL Board of Directors.

Founding Director of The Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic ClinicKerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Foundation Board of Directors

Founding Director of the Sports Neurology Fellowship at Kerlan-Jobe
American Academy of Neurology Sports Section Board of Councilors.

Chair of the American Academy of Neurology Sports Neurology Section

Appointed to California State Athletic Commission
Research & Publications Selected Publications:

Williams V, Stewart E, et al. Sports Neurology As A Multidisciplinary Field. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY: SPORTS NEUROLOGY. In Press

Williams, V. A Historical Perspective on Sports Concussion: Where We Have Been and Where We Are Going. CURRENT PAIN AND HEADACHE REPORTS, 2016; 20(6): 1-8

Williams, V. Emergencies in Sports Neurology. CONTINUUM: LIFELONG LEARNING IN NEUROLOGY, 2014; 20: 1629-1644

Williams V, Staats P. Intrathecal Baclofen for the Management of Uncontrolled Spasticity. PAIN DIGEST, 1998;8:158-165

Williams V, Pappagallo M. Entrapment Neuropathies. In: Raja S (Ed.) Essentials of Pain medicine. Churchill-Livingstone, 1998

Williams V, Pappagallo M. Central Pain. In: Raja S (Ed.) Essentials of Pain Medicine. Churchill-Livingstone, 1998 7. Cocaine Associated Intracranial Hemorrhage: Absence of Vasculitis in Fourteen Cases. NEUROLOGY, 1996; 46:1741-1743

Selected Clinical Research:

A Multicenter Double Blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled, Parallel Group Clinical study of the Safety, and Efficacy of Botox (Botulinum Toxin Type-A) Purified Neurotoxin Complex Injections Into Local Areas of Muscle Spasm in Subjects With Chronic Low Back Pain. Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic. Los Angeles, CA; 1999

Phase II, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Parallel, Four Week Evaluation of V. Williams, MD (updated 4/15/2018) Page 4 of 20 Efficacy and Safety of Multiple Doses of CJ-13,974 in Subjects With Moderate to Severe Chronic Back Pain. Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic. Los Angeles, CA; 1998

A Multicenter, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled, Parallel Group, Study of Two Dose Levels of Oral Eletriptan and Two Dose Levels of Oral Sumatriptan For The Acute Treatment of Migraine. Innovative Medical Research. Baltimore, MD; 1996
Conditions
Brain concussion
Cervical dystonia
Cervical radiculopathy
Chronic neck pain
Cluster headache
Coccydynia
Complex regional pain syndrome ( CRPS )
Degenerative spondylolisthesis
Dysplastic spondylolisthesis
Fibromyalgia
Headache
Isthmic spondylolisthesis
Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve syndrome
Low back pain
Lumbar radiculopathy
Meralgia paresthetica
Migraines
Pathologic spondylolisthesis
Post traumatic headache
Sacroiliac joint pain
Seronegative spondyloarthropathy
Sinus headache
Spinal headache
Spinal stenosis
Spondylolysis
Tailbone pain
Tension headache
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Thoracic radiculopathy
Traumatic brain injury ( TBI )
Traumatic spondylolisthesis
Vestibular migraine
Procedures
Concussion testing
Discogram
Electromyography ( EMG )
Epidural steroid injection
Facet block injections
Lumbar puncture ( LP )
Nerve blocks
Nerve conduction velocity test ( NCV )
Neurofeedback
Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation
Platelet rich plasma ( PRP )
Pulsed radiofrequency denervation
Quantitative electroencephalography ( qEEG )
Quantitative sensory testing ( QST )
Radiofrequency facet denervation
Scalene block
SI joint injection
Spinal tap
Stem cell therapy
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ( TENS ) therapy
Johns Hopkins University | Sports Medicine
Fellowship
University of Maryland Medical Center | Neurology
Residency
University of Michigan Medical School
Medical School
Board Certifications
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Neurology
Hospital Affiliation
Cedars-Sinai
Place of Work
Director, Sports Neurology and Pain Management, Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic | Large group (8+) | Current