Ask the Expert

Ashraf Sakr, MD

 Ashraf Sakr, MD, a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management specialist

Category - Pain Management

Question 1
I have had horrible back pain for over a year now.  The only time I doesn't hurt is when I'm sitting.  I have tried everything, medications make me sleepy, physical therapy makes it hurt even more, and the epidural injections only last about 2 weeks.  What else would you recommend?

There are multiple different interventional pain  procedures that can be performed.  It depends on the nature and the cause of the Pain condition , I would recomend that you see a pain specialist for an assesstment and an evaluation.

Question 2
I was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis and my gynecologist said it could be I've been having so much back pain.  What types of treatment would you recommend for someone with osteoporosis, and is there any medications I could take to prevent it from getting worse?

There is a NONPHARMACOLOGIC THERAPY : diet, exercise, and cessation of smoking. .Calcium/vitamin D - An optimal diet for treatment (or prevention) of osteoporosis.

Exercise - for at least 30 minutes three times per week, as exercise has been associated with improvements in or maintenance of bone density and a reduced risk of hip fracture in older women. walking is the best.

Cessation of smoking - We strongly recommend smoking cessation to all women concerned with their skeletal health because smoking cigarettes accelerates bone loss.

PHARMACOLOGIC THERAPY -  Patients with the highest risk of fracture are the ones most likely to benefit from drug therapy.

Alendronate, risedronate, zoledronic acid, Other available antiresorptives include the selective estrogen receptor modulator

(SERM) raloxifene and the bisphosphonate ibandronate.

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