By Advanced Pain Care Intrathecal pain pumps can sound intimidating, but they’re actually a great option for patients with severe chronic pain who haven’t yet found a treatment that works well for them. An intrathecal pain pump is placed under the skin and administers pain medication at a regular rate to combat severe chronic pain.  The pain pump itself is a reservoir that holds the medicine and is connected to an intrathecal catheter which runs through the thecal sac, the area around the spinal cord that is filled with fluid. The pain medication is delivered to this thecal sac area at a