Pain and Wellness with Dr Rao

Sudhir Rao
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Dr. Sudhir Rao is a triple board-certified physician in pain medicine, anesthesiology, and functional medicine with 20 years of experience and 50,000+ patients treated.On this podcast, you will find honest, science-backed answers on chronic pain, back pain, sciatica, neuropathy, and nerve pain. Dr. Rao also covers regenerative medicine, including PRP, exosome therapy, and peptides, plus hormone replacement therapy, minimally invasive spine procedures, and functional medicine approaches to inflammation, fatigue, and brain fog.If you are dealing with pain that won't go away, exploring alternatives to surgery, or looking to optimize your health and longevity, this channel gives you real answers with zero hype.New episodes posted weekly.

  1. 5d ago

    The Hidden Danger of Back Surgery and How to Avoid It

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com Surgery might fix your spine, but what happens in the weeks after can decide whether you ever get your strength back. Most patients are never warned about this part. It starts within the first week of rest and it can undo years of muscle you worked hard to build. Doctors focus on the hardware and the healing disc, but almost nobody talks about the muscle wasting away underneath the bandage while you are told to simply rest. In this video, I'm going to explain why muscle loss after back surgery is so dangerous, and show you the device that lets you rebuild strength without loading your spine. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 The Hidden Danger of Back Surgery and How to Avoid It 0:30 How fast you lose muscle after surgery 1:05 Why physical therapy can set you back without muscle 1:40 Working muscle without any load on your spine 2:20 Two modes of the device and why most places only use one 3:00 Who actually needs this treatment 3:30 The older patient trapped in the weakness loop 4:10 GLP1 weight loss and hidden muscle loss 4:45 What this treatment can and cannot fix 5:20 How to ask your surgeon about muscle protection QUESTIONS ANSWERED Q: Why do muscles weaken so fast after back surgery? A: Once loaded exercise is off the table, muscle breaks down quickly, often within the first week of rest. This weakness can make physical therapy unsafe and stretch recovery from months into nearly a year, since a weak body cannot tolerate the loaded movements therapy requires. Q: Can you build muscle without putting load on the spine? A: Yes. A functional rehabilitation device sends a magnetic pulse into the nerve controlling a muscle group, causing it to contract as if you did a squat while you lie still with no pressure on the spine, hips, or knees. Most clinics only use one setting on this device, but there is a second mode built specifically for recovering muscle that most patients never get offered. Q: Does this treatment replace physical therapy? A: No. It does not fix a disc or replace therapy. It prepares the body so a patient can handle physical therapy safely once cleared to move, which matters most for older patients and anyone who has lost muscle quickly through GLP1 medications before surgery. 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. 💬 Were you told to just rest and wait after a back procedure? Tell me what your recovery plan looked like in the comments. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

  2. Oct 22

    What I Would Do First If I Had Neuropathy (Without Adding Another Medication)

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com If I woke up tomorrow with burning feet and numb hands, I would not start by changing my medication. I would start with four specific checks, and the first one has nothing to do with the nerves themselves. Most people get this order backward, and it costs them years chasing symptom relief instead of finding out what actually caused the damage. I have watched patients cycle through three or four prescriptions before anyone ever tested whether their nerves were even getting enough blood flow in the first place. In this video, I'm going to walk through the exact four step process I would use on myself to find out what is really causing neuropathy before choosing any treatment. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 What I Would Do First If I Had Neuropathy (Without Adding Another Medication) 0:35 Step 1: Check if blood supply is starving the nerve 1:27 The TM flow test explained 2:04 Step 2: EMG vs small fiber nerve damage 2:46 Why a normal EMG can still mean you're in pain 3:10 Step 3: The nutrient deficiency doctors skip 3:42 Step 4: Matching treatment to the actual cause 4:35 Why one protocol for every neuropathy case is a guess 5:19 The one question to ask before starting any treatment ❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED Q: Can neuropathy be caused by poor blood flow instead of nerve damage? A: Yes. Nerves need oxygen delivered through small blood vessels, and when that supply is cut off, the nerve stops working properly even if it is not permanently damaged. A simple non-invasive test called TM flow can check this in about twenty minutes, and if blood flow turns out to be the real problem, restoring circulation can resolve symptoms that medication alone never touches. Q: Why does my EMG come back normal if I still have burning nerve pain? A: An EMG only measures large nerve fibers that handle movement and pressure, so it can look completely normal even when you are in real pain. Burning and temperature sensations run through small fibers, which require a different test, a small skin biopsy, to actually detect the damage an EMG misses entirely. Q: What vitamin deficiency can mimic neuropathy symptoms? A: Low B12 can damage the protective coating around nerve fibers and produce symptoms that look identical to diabetic nerve damage, including tingling, numbness, and burning pain. This deficiency is often missed on standard annual bloodwork because most panels do not include it unless specifically requested. 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. 💬 Have you been given medication for neuropathy without ever being tested for the cause? Tell me in the comments what tests you've actually had done. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

  3. Oct 15

    The 4 Biggest Mistakes That Will Keep You in Nerve Pain Forever and What to Do Instead

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com If your feet have been burning for years and the only thing that's changed is your dose, you are not alone. Most neuropathy patients get stuck in the same loop, year after year, with the same prescription refilled at a higher number each time. Nobody ever stops to ask if it is actually working. Three of the mistakes that keep you there can be fixed at your very next appointment, and one of them is probably happening to you right now without you realizing it. In this video, I'm going to break down the four biggest mistakes keeping people stuck in nerve pain and the exact questions to ask your doctor instead. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 The 4 Biggest Mistakes That Will Keep You in Nerve Pain Forever and What to Do Instead 0:40 Mistake 1, no stopping point for your medication 1:27 Mistake 2, dose going up with no function check 2:42 Mistake 3, never asking what exists besides pills 3:38 What spinal cord stimulation actually is 4:12 Mistake 4, paying cash for care insurance covers 5:14 The real nerve workup you should ask for 6:01 The one question that exposes bad treatment ❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED What is the biggest mistake people make treating neuropathy? The biggest mistake is never setting a stopping point for medication, so the dose keeps climbing for years without anyone checking whether it is actually improving function. Patients often end up on three or four times their starting dose with the same burning, numbness, and sleep disruption they started with, because nobody ever asked if the medication was still pulling its weight. What is spinal cord stimulation and who qualifies? It is an FDA approved device that blocks nerve pain signals before they reach the brain, typically used when diabetic nerve pain has not responded to medication. It is tested for a week with a trial device before anything permanent is placed, so patients know whether it will help before committing to surgery, and most insurance plans already cover it. How do I know if my neuropathy medication has stopped working? If your dose has increased at least twice, you have been on it for six months or longer, and your list of limitations has not gotten shorter, medication alone has likely reached its ceiling. At that point it is worth asking for a real nerve workup, including EMG, NCV, and vascular testing, instead of another refill. 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. 💬 Which of these four mistakes have you run into? Tell me in the comments, I read every one. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

  4. Oct 8

    Back Pain Injection Wearing Off? Do This Next

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com Why does one person's pain injection keep working for years while the next person's fails by month three? Same procedure, same doctor, completely different results. There is a reason, and it has almost nothing to do with the needle. I have watched this pattern play out thousands of times in my practice, and once you understand the mechanism behind it, you can actually do something about it instead of just booking another shot every few months. In this episode, I'm going to explain why pain injections stop working over time and what is actually driving that decline so you can keep your relief lasting longer. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Back Pain Injection Wearing Off? Do This Next 0:49 My background treating 20,000 patients 1:14 What injections and nerve blocks actually do 1:47 Why pain management only manages, it does not fix 2:01 The fire versus fuel problem and what inflammation really is 2:46 The hidden causes keeping inflammation switched on 3:34 Why visceral fat fuels chronic pain 4:23 How to know your relief window is shrinking 5:03 The exact labs to ask your doctor for 5:45 What to do once you have your results ❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED Why do pain injections stop working after a while? Injections calm the pain signal but do not turn off the underlying inflammation feeding the problem. That inflammation comes from sources like visceral fat, hormone imbalance, and low vitamin D, and it keeps breaking down tissue quietly in the background. Each round of treatment starts from a worse baseline, so the relief window gets shorter with every procedure. What labs should I ask for if my pain treatments keep wearing off? Ask for a CRP level to measure systemic inflammation, a hormone panel including testosterone and DHEA, and a vitamin D level. These are rarely included in a standard annual physical, but low vitamin D and low DHEA are both linked to higher inflammatory load and slower tissue repair. Getting these numbers gives you and your doctor a real target instead of just repeating the same procedure and hoping it lasts longer this time. Does body fat affect chronic pain and inflammation? Yes, visceral fat around the organs actively pumps inflammatory chemicals into the bloodstream all day, every day. The body cannot tell the difference between that inflammation and the inflammation from an injured disc or joint, so both add to the same pain response and both work against your injection's results. 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

  5. Oct 1

    Give Me 8 Minutes Before You Agree to Spinal Fusion (And I’ll Show You What to Do Instead)

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com There's one question that can tell you whether you actually need that spinal fusion. Most people never get to ask it before they agree to surgery. If injections stopped working and a surgeon's name just landed on your referral, watch this first. Every year, thousands of patients get pushed straight from injections to fusion without ever hearing about the steps in between, and that gap in information is costing people surgeries they may not need. In this episode, I'm going to show you the two procedures that sit between injections and fusion, who they actually work for, and the exact questions to ask before you agree to anything permanent. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Give Me 8 Minutes Before You Agree to Spinal Fusion (And I’ll Show You What to Do Instead) 0:41 Why you've never heard of this option 1:53 What actually sits between injections and surgery 2:09 What the MILD procedure is 2:37 What a bio disc injection is 3:04 Who is a good candidate for MILD 4:03 Who is a good candidate for a disc injection 4:37 Why doing this first keeps surgery on the table later 5:20 What this can't promise, and when surgery is truly necessary 5:52 The exact question to ask your doctor ❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED Q: What is MILD spine surgery? A: MILD stands for minimally invasive lumbar decompression, a procedure where a thickened ligament pressing on spinal nerves is scraped away through a tiny stab incision. It takes about 30 minutes, requires no rods or screws, and patients go home the same day with a much shorter recovery than fusion. Q: What is a bio disc injection? A: A bio disc injection places amniotic fluid membrane directly into a torn or bulging disc to seal it, increase disc height, and improve stability. It is a five minute needle based procedure done under imaging guidance with no incision, no general anesthesia, and minimal downtime compared to open spine surgery. Q: Do I need spinal fusion if my back pain isn't improving? A: Not necessarily. Studies and surgeons alike find only about 8 to 10 percent of people referred for spine surgery actually need an operation, meaning most patients have other options worth exploring first, including the two procedures covered in this episode, before agreeing to something permanent and irreversible. 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

  6. Sep 24

    Neuropathy Medication Not Working? Do This Instead

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com If your feet burn so badly at night that the sheets hurt, and your hands go numb for no clear reason, and Gabapentin or Lyrica isn't touching it, this episode is for you. There's a specific reason that medication isn't working, and it has nothing to do with the dose. It comes down to a test that was supposed to happen before the prescription was ever written. Most patients get handed a prescription at their first visit, and when it fails, they get a higher dose instead of an actual answer. That cycle can go on for years while the real cause of the nerve damage never gets identified or treated. In this episode, I'm going to explain why neuropathy medication fails, what tests get skipped, and exactly what to ask your doctor to get answers. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Neuropathy Medication Not Working? Do This Instead 0:38 The sentence I hear from every patient 1:05 Why doctors prescribe without testing first 1:39 Neuropathy is not one condition 2:31 Why primary care never runs this workup 2:47 The rock and a hard place cycle 3:22 The 3 tests a real workup requires 4:17 Small fiber neuropathy explained 5:06 Watch out for costly clinic sales tactics 6:05 The 3 questions to ask your doctor ❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED Q: Why doesn't Gabapentin or Lyrica work for my neuropathy? A: These medications only work well for certain types of nerve damage, mainly large fiber issues. Without testing which type you actually have, you end up with the side effects like fatigue and brain fog but little to no pain relief. Q: What tests confirm the type of neuropathy I have? A: A real workup includes a TM flow test for blood flow and autonomic function, an EMG nerve conduction study for large nerve fibers, and a skin biopsy to check for small fiber neuropathy. Together they show exactly which nerves are damaged and why, instead of guessing based on symptoms alone. Q: Why didn't my doctor order these neuropathy tests? A: Primary care visits are built to match symptoms to a prescription quickly, not to run a full nerve workup that takes time and specialized equipment. That kind of testing usually requires a referral to a neurologist or pain specialist that many patients are never told about, so they stay stuck on medication that was never matched to their actual condition. 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

  7. Sep 17

    Pain Doctor: 5 Breakthrough Treatments Replacing Spine Surgery

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com Spine surgery used to be the only next step once injections stopped working. That's no longer true, and most patients never hear it. There is a whole tier of treatments sitting between injections and open surgery that can fix the actual problem instead of just masking it, using tools that barely leave a mark on the skin. In this episode, I'm going to walk through the minimally invasive procedures now replacing spine surgery for many patients, and how to find out if one could work for you before you agree to anything permanent. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 The Breakthrough Treatments Replacing Spine Surgery in 2026 0:53 My background treating chronic pain for 20 years 1:20 How this mirrors what happened in heart surgery 2:15 The changing of the guard in spine care 2:50 Why your doctor may not know about these options 3:43 Disc repair without surgery 4:16 Fixing spinal stenosis and fusing the SI joint through tiny incisions 4:59 Why these procedures keep surgery as a backup option 6:03 When spine surgery is actually the right call 7:15 What to ask before agreeing to any procedure ❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED What are the alternatives to spine surgery in 2026? Minimally invasive options like disc biologic injections, the MILD procedure for spinal stenosis, and SI joint fusion through a single guidewire now sit between injections and open surgery. They target the specific structure causing pain, whether that is a worn disc, a narrowed canal, or an unstable joint, without cutting through bone or disc tissue, and most are done through an incision the size of a paper cut. Is spine surgery reversible? No. Once bones are fused they stay fused, and that fusion often puts extra mechanical stress on the disc levels above and below it, which is a common reason patients end up needing a second surgery years later. Minimally invasive procedures address the same problem while leaving open surgery available later if it's ever truly needed. How many people who see a spine surgeon actually need surgery? Most spine surgeons report that only around 8 to 10 percent of patients who come through their door actually need an operation. The rest are often never told about the smaller, targeted procedures that could solve the underlying problem first and spare them a permanent fusion. 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

  8. Sep 10

    Ask These 4 Questions Before You Agree to Spine Surgery

    📌 Learn more about Dr. Rao's integrative approach: https://www.raowellness.com There is one thing about spine surgery that most patients only find out after they have already had it. Once you know it, you walk into that appointment asking completely different questions. The cases I find hardest are not the complicated ones. They are the patients who come to me after surgery, still in pain, because they said yes without getting the right answers first. In this video, I'm going to walk you through the four questions you need to ask before agreeing to spine surgery, and what a good answer to each one actually sounds like. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Ask These 4 Questions Before You Agree to Spine Surgery 0:47 Why spine surgery is different from everything else you've tried 1:39 The domino effect of spinal fusion 2:00 Reversible options between injections and surgery 3:12 When surgery really is the right call 3:52 Question 1: Have you been evaluated for less invasive options 5:04 Question 2: What does the surgery and recovery really involve 5:43 Question 3: What happens if the pain doesn't go away 6:12 Question 4: Do you lose your shot at surgery by waiting ❓ QUESTIONS ANSWERED What percentage of spine surgery patients actually need the operation? Studies show only about 8 to 10 percent of patients referred to a spine surgeon truly need surgery. The other 90 percent are candidates for less invasive treatment first. Do you lose the chance to have spine surgery later if you try other treatments first? No. For most structural back problems, trying reversible options first does not close the door on surgery. Surgery generally remains available if those options do not work. What happens if spine surgery does not relieve the pain? It can lead to more scar tissue and extra stress on the spinal levels above and below the fusion, sometimes requiring another operation. Asking your surgeon this question directly before agreeing to surgery reveals how much thought has gone into your specific case. 🎥 Watch Next:  https://youtu.be/Awa6r2hq1WE 5 Pain Management Mistakes That Keep You Suffering 📱 RESOURCES Website: https://www.raowellness.com 🔔 Subscribe for honest, clinically grounded answers on chronic pain, regenerative medicine, and longevity from a doctor who has spent 20 years on the front lines. 💬 If you were sent straight to a spine surgeon without ever being evaluated for less invasive options, tell me in the comments how long ago your standard treatments ran out. That timeline matters more than most people realize. ABOUT DR. SUDHIR RAO: I'm Dr. Sudhir Rao, triple board certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and functional medicine. Over 20 years and more than 50,000 patients, I've seen what actually moves the needle for people living with chronic pain. My practice combines precision diagnostics with targeted, integrated treatment to help patients stop managing symptoms and start getting to root cause. Learn more at https://www.raowellness.com. #chronicpain #chronicpainrelief #functionalmedicine #painmanagement #longevity

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About

Dr. Sudhir Rao is a triple board-certified physician in pain medicine, anesthesiology, and functional medicine with 20 years of experience and 50,000+ patients treated.On this podcast, you will find honest, science-backed answers on chronic pain, back pain, sciatica, neuropathy, and nerve pain. Dr. Rao also covers regenerative medicine, including PRP, exosome therapy, and peptides, plus hormone replacement therapy, minimally invasive spine procedures, and functional medicine approaches to inflammation, fatigue, and brain fog.If you are dealing with pain that won't go away, exploring alternatives to surgery, or looking to optimize your health and longevity, this channel gives you real answers with zero hype.New episodes posted weekly.

Information

  • Creator
    Sudhir Rao
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Pain and Wellness with Dr Rao