Patricia Zheng, MD

Title(s)Associate Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address1500 Owens Street, #320
San Francisco CA 94158
Phone415-353-2808
PronounsShe/Her/Hers
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    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MABS2008Chemical Engineering and Biology
    University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CAMD2012Doctorate of Medicine
    Stanford University, Stanford, CA2016PM&R Residency
    Stanford University, Stanford, CA2017PM&R Fellowship in Interventional Spine

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse overview
    My research interest is in harnessing the power of emerging technologies to improve non-operative management of chronic spinal conditions. I have a background in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and have fellowship training in interventional spine care. My recent research projects have included building mobile applications to more granularly track outcomes after spinal injections and building a national cohort of chronic low back pain to better phenotype biopsychosocial features capable of influencing outcome.

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse selected publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
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    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Discrepancies of Calculated Percentage Pain Reduction versus Patient Reported Percentage Perceived Reduction in Pain Intensity after Axial Spine Medial Branch Block. Pain Med. 2025 Apr 12. Schneider B, Buttner JA, Rivers WE, Nagpal A, Patel J, Zheng P, McCormick ZL, Kennedy DJ, Ehsanian R. PMID: 40221849.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    2. Factfinders for patient safety: Epidural steroid injections in the setting of severe cervical central and neuroforaminal stenosis. Interv Pain Med. 2025 Jun; 4(2):100580. Zheng P, Raghunandan A, Saffarian M, Levi D, International Pain and Spine Intervention Society's Patient Safety Committee. PMID: 40224720; PMCID: PMC11992524.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    3. Chronic low back pain causal risk factors identified by Mendelian randomization: a cross-sectional cohort analysis. Spine J. 2025 Jun; 25(6):1154-1166. Zheng P, Scheffler A, Ewing S, Hue TF, Jones Berkeley S, Morshed S, Mehling W, Torres-Espin A, Galivanche A, Lotz J, Peterson T, O'Neill C, REACH Investigators. PMID: 39818276.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    4. Are gadolinium-based contrast media safe alternatives to iodinated contrast agents for the safe performance of spinal injection procedures? Interv Pain Med. 2025 Mar; 4(1):100538. Nguyen M, Zheng P, Paluck MD, Popescu A, Patel J, McCormick Z, Maus TP, Smith CC, Levi D, International Pain and Spine Intervention Society's Patient Safety Committee. PMID: 40226043; PMCID: PMC11992480.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    5. Empowering Self-Management for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Human-Centered Design Study of Spanish- and Cantonese-Preferring Patients in the United States. medRxiv. 2024 Dec 03. Zheng P, De Marchis E, Yeager J, Del Rosario K, Nagao M, Belaye T, Gallegos-Castillo A, Fung LC, Vallejo A, Kuang A, Gendelberg D, Lotz J, O'Neill C, REACH investigators. PMID: 39677457; PMCID: PMC11643171.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    6. Normality analysis of numeric rating scale scores in patients with chronic axial spine pain before and after medial branch blocks: a multicenter study. Pain Med. 2024 Oct 01; 25(10):591-599. Ehsanian R, Buttner JA, Rivers WE, Nagpal A, Patel J, Zheng P, McCormick Z, Schneider BJ. PMID: 38775642.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    7. Chronic Low Back Pain Causal Risk Factors Identified by Mendelian Randomization: a Cross-Sectional Cohort Analysis. medRxiv. 2024 Sep 27. Zheng P, Scheffler A, Ewing S, Hue T, Jones S, Morshed S, Mehling W, Torres-Espin A, Galivanche A, Lotz J, Peterson T, O'Neill C, REACH investigators. PMID: 39399002; PMCID: PMC11469358.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    8. FACTFINDERS FOR PATIENT SAFETY: Minimizing risks with cervical epidural injections. Interv Pain Med. 2024 Sep; 3(3):100430. Holder EK, Lee H, Raghunandan A, Marshall B, Michalik A, Nguyen M, Saffarian M, Schneider BJ, Smith CC, Tiegs-Heiden CA, Zheng P, Patel J, Levi D, International Pain and Spine Intervention Society's Patient Safety Committee. PMID: 39502902; PMCID: PMC11536293.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    9. Design of the COMEBACK and BACKHOME Studies, Longitudinal Cohorts for Comprehensive Deep Phenotyping of Adults with Chronic Low-Back Pain (cLBP): a part of the BACPAC Research Program. medRxiv. 2024 Apr 12. Hue TF, Lotz JC, Zheng P, Black DM, Bailey J, Ewing SK, Fields AJ, Mehling W, Scheffler A, Strigo I, Petterson T, Wu LA, O'Neill C, UCSF REACH Center, the CoRe CEnter for PAtient-Centric Mechanistic PHenotyping in Chronic Low Back P. PMID: 38645207; PMCID: PMC11030474.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    10. FACTFINDERS for PATIENT SAFETY: Preventing procedure-related complications: Epidural lipomatosis and postpartum steroid exposure. Interv Pain Med. 2024 Jun; 3(2):100408. D'Souza RS, Zheng P, Christolias G, Holder EK, Lee H, Miller DC, Raghunandan A, Smith CC, Patel J, International Pain and Spine Intervention Society's Patient Safety Committee. PMID: 39238584; PMCID: PMC11372935.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    11. [Evidence-based interventions to treat chronic low back pain: treatment selection for a personalized medicine approach : German version]. Schmerz. 2024 Feb 21. Mauck MC, Aylward AF, Barton CE, Birckhead B, Carey T, Dalton DM, Fields AJ, Fritz J, Hassett AL, Hoffmeyer A, Jones SB, McLean SA, Mehling WE, O'Neill CW, Schneider MJ, Williams DA, Zheng P, Wasan AD. PMID: 38381187.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    12. Preferences for risks and benefits of treatment outcomes for chronic low back pain: Choice-based conjoint measure development and discrete choice experiment. PM R. 2024 Aug; 16(8):836-847. Wilson L, Denham A, Ionova Y, O'Neill C, Greco CM, Hassett AL, Hanmer J, Shaikh S, Wolf M, Berven S, Williams D, Ma Y, Lotz J, Zheng P. PMID: 38040670; PMCID: PMC11251494.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    13. FactFinders for patient safety: Delaying epidural steroid injections: Infection and safe platelet cutoff. Interv Pain Med. 2024 Mar; 3(1):100383. Zheng P, Hao D, Christolias G, Marshall B, Smith CC, Sudhakaran S, Patel J, McCormick ZL, International Pain & Spine Intervention Society's Patient Safety Committee. PMID: 39239505; PMCID: PMC11372875.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    14. Predictors of response in PROMIS-global in a chronic low back pain specialty clinic: STarTBack and chronic overlapping pain conditions. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2024; 37(4):909-920. Zheng P, Ewing S, Tang A, Black D, Hue T, Lotz J, Peterson T, Torres-Espin A, O'Neill C. PMID: 38427463; PMCID: PMC11307069.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    15. The Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program: Structure, Research Priorities, and Methods. Pain Med. 2023 08 04; 24(Suppl 1):S3-S12. Mauck MC, Lotz J, Psioda MA, Carey TS, Clauw DJ, Majumdar S, Marras WS, Vo N, Aylward A, Hoffmeyer A, Zheng P, Ivanova A, McCumber M, Carson C, Anstrom KJ, Bowden AE, Dalton D, Derr L, Dufour J, Fields AJ, Fritz J, Hassett AL, Harte SE, Hue TF, Krug R, Loggia ML, Mageswaran P, McLean SA, Mitchell UH, O'Neill C, Pedoia V, Quirk DA, Rhon DI, Rieke V, Shah L, Sowa G, Spiegel B, Wasan AD, Wey HM, LaVange L. PMID: 36622041; PMCID: PMC10403298.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    16. CAPER: patient preferences to inform nonsurgical treatment of chronic low back pain: a discrete-choice experiment. Pain Med. 2023 08 01; 24(8):963-973. Wilson L, Zheng P, Ionova Y, Denham A, Yoo C, Ma Y, Greco CM, Hanmer J, Williams DA, Hassett AL, Scheffler AW, Valone F, Mehling W, Berven S, Lotz J, O'Neill C. PMID: 36975607.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    17. Evidence-based interventions to treat chronic low back pain: treatment selection for a personalized medicine approach. Pain Rep. 2022 Sep-Oct; 7(5):e1019. Mauck MC, Aylward AF, Barton CE, Birckhead B, Carey T, Dalton DM, Fields AJ, Fritz J, Hassett AL, Hoffmeyer A, Jones SB, McLean SA, Mehling WE, O'Neill CW, Schneider MJ, Williams DA, Zheng P, Wasan AD. PMID: 36203645; PMCID: PMC9529058.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11  
    18. Compensatory biomechanics and spinal loading during dynamic maneuvers in patients with chronic low back pain. Eur Spine J. 2022 07; 31(7):1889-1896. Nyayapati P, Booker J, Wu PI, Theologis A, Dziesinski L, O'Neill C, Zheng P, Lotz JC, Matthew RP, Bailey JF. PMID: 35604457; PMCID: PMC9252943.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    19. Patient-perceived duration of effect of lidocaine and bupivacaine following diagnostic medial branch blocks; a multicenter study. Interv Pain Med. 2022 Jun; 1(2):100083. Schneider BJ, Joshi M, Ehsanian R, McCormick ZL, Patel J, Zheng P, Nagpal AS. PMID: 39239364; PMCID: PMC11372915.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    20. Objective features of sedentary time and light activity differentiate people with low back pain from healthy controls: a pilot study. Spine J. 2022 04; 22(4):629-634. Tomkins-Lane C, Sun R, Muaremi A, Zheng P, Mohan M, Ith MA, Smuck M. PMID: 34798245.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    21. What does the patient with back pain want? A comparison of patient preferences and physician assumptions. Spine J. 2022 02; 22(2):207-213. Smuck M, Barrette K, Martinez-Ith A, Sultana G, Zheng P. PMID: 34551322.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    22. Radiofrequency Ablation for Chronic Hip Pain: A Comprehensive, Narrative Review. Pain Med. 2021 07 25; 22(Suppl 1):S14-S19. Cheney CW, Ahmadian A, Brennick C, Zheng P, Mattie R, McCormick ZL, Nagpal A. PMID: 34308954.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    23. Evaluation of human cartilage endplate composition using MRI: Spatial variation, association with adjacent disc degeneration, and in vivo repeatability. J Orthop Res. 2021 07; 39(7):1470-1478. Wang L, Han M, Wong J, Zheng P, Lazar AA, Krug R, Fields AJ. PMID: 32592504; PMCID: PMC7765737.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:HumansCTClinical Trials
    24. Variability among methods and timing of pain assessment tools for tracking improvement of lumbar stenosis patients after surgery. Spine J. 2020 11; 20(11):1826-1831. Tomkins-Lane C, Zheng PZ, Sun R, Smuck M. PMID: 32534134.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    25. Digital Care for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: 10,000 Participant Longitudinal Cohort Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020 05 11; 22(5):e18250. Bailey JF, Agarwal V, Zheng P, Smuck M, Fredericson M, Kennedy DJ, Krauss J. PMID: 32208358; PMCID: PMC7248800.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 54     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    26. Pain and Functional Outcomes After Sacroiliac Joint Injection with Anesthetic and Corticosteroid at Six Months, Stratified by Anesthetic Response and Physical Exam Maneuvers. Pain Med. 2020 01 01; 21(1):32-40. Schneider BJ, Ehsanian R, Huynh L, Levin J, Zheng P, Kennedy DJ. PMID: 31106837.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:HumansCTClinical Trials
    27. Radiofrequency Ablation for Posterior Sacroiliac Joint Complex Pain: A Narrative Review. PM R. 2019 08; 11 Suppl 1:S105-S113. Yang AJ, McCormick ZL, Zheng PZ, Schneider BJ. PMID: 31169356.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    28. Challenges in Diagnosing Sacroiliac Joint Pain: A Narrative Review. PM R. 2019 08; 11 Suppl 1:S40-S45. Schneider BJ, Rosati R, Zheng P, McCormick ZL. PMID: 31020770.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    29. Trends in steroid agent and diluent choices for epidural steroid injections: a survey of Spine Intervention Society physicians. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2019 May 24. Clements N, Vydra D, Cushman DM, Nagpal A, Julia J, Zheng P, McCormick ZL. PMID: 31129616.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    
    30. Image-Guided Sacroiliac Joint Injections: an Evidence-based Review of Best Practices and Clinical Outcomes. PM R. 2019 08; 11 Suppl 1:S98-S104. Zheng P, Schneider BJ, Yang A, McCormick ZL. PMID: 31115176.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    31. Intra-articular Steroids vs Saline for Lumbar Z-Joint Pain: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial. Pain Med. 2019 02 01; 20(2):246-251. Kennedy DJ, Fraiser R, Zheng P, Huynh L, Levin J, Smuck M, Schneider BJ. PMID: 30541041.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 10     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    32. Advice to give advice. Spine J. 2017 10; 17(10):1547-1548. Zheng PZ, Smuck M. PMID: 28947012.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    33. A minimum of 5-year follow-up after lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections in patients with lumbar radicular pain due to intervertebral disc herniation. Spine J. 2018 01; 18(1):29-35. Kennedy DJ, Zheng PZ, Smuck M, McCormick ZL, Huynh L, Schneider BJ. PMID: 28962912.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 18     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    34. Objective measurement of function following lumbar spinal stenosis decompression reveals improved functional capacity with stagnant real-life physical activity. Spine J. 2018 01; 18(1):15-21. Smuck M, Muaremi A, Zheng P, Norden J, Sinha A, Hu R, Tomkins-Lane C. PMID: 28962914; PMCID: PMC5732871.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 31     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    35. Stagnant Physical Therapy Referral Rates Alongside Rising Opioid Prescription Rates in Patients With Low Back Pain in the United States 1997-2010. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2017 May 01; 42(9):670-674. Zheng P, Kao MC, Karayannis NV, Smuck M. PMID: 28441685; PMCID: PMC9853341.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 21     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    36. App Development for Therapeutic Exercise. PM R. 2017 05; 9(5S):S116-S117. Zheng P, Leff G, Ith MA, Smuck M. PMID: 28527496.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    37. Variability Among Pain and Function Assessment Tools for Tracking Improvement of Lumbar Stenosis Patients After Surgery. PM R. 2016 Sep; 8(9S):S159. Zheng PZ, Lane C, Smuck M. PMID: 27672766.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    38. Safety of epidural steroid injections. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2016 Aug; 15(8):1031-9. Schneider B, Zheng P, Mattie R, Kennedy DJ. PMID: 27148630.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 15     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    39. Seated Tai Chi to alleviate pain and improve quality of life in individuals with spinal cord disorder. J Spinal Cord Med. 2016 05; 39(3):353-8. Shem K, Karasik D, Carufel P, Kao MC, Zheng P. PMID: 26914968; PMCID: PMC5073764.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    40. Survey of Asian patients with hepatitis B infection: limited knowledge of transmission and screening of family members. J Immigr Minor Health. 2015 Feb; 17(1):112-7. Vijayan T, Zheng P, Nguyen C, Brown AM, Chen YW, Peters MG. PMID: 23913129; PMCID: PMC3880640.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
    41. Assessment and management of back pain. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Mar; 174(3):479. Kao MC, Zheng P, Smuck M. PMID: 24590093.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    42. Demographic factors affect willingness to register as an organ donor more than a personal relationship with a transplant candidate. Dig Dis Sci. 2014 Jul; 59(7):1386-91. Regalia K, Zheng P, Sillau S, Aggarwal A, Bellevue O, Fix OK, Prinz J, Dunn S, Biggins SW. PMID: 24519521; PMCID: PMC4071122.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    43. Duration of fluoroscopic-guided spine interventions and radiation exposure is increased in overweight patients. PM R. 2013 Apr; 5(4):291-6; quiz 296. Smuck M, Zheng P, Chong T, Kao MC, Geisser ME. PMID: 23435199.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    44. Impact of student-run clinics on preclinical sociocultural and interprofessional attitudes: a prospective cohort analysis. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2012 Aug; 23(3):1058-72. Sheu L, Lai CJ, Coelho AD, Lin LD, Zheng P, Hom P, Diaz V, O'Sullivan PS. PMID: 24212159.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    45. Impact of preclinical exposure to organ donation on knowledge and attitudes of medical students. Prog Transplant. 2012 Mar; 22(1):79-85, 109. Zheng P, Sammann A, Qiu M, Lee R, O'Sullivan P, Roberts J. PMID: 22489447.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    46. Learning through service: student perceptions on volunteering at interprofessional hepatitis B student-run clinics. J Cancer Educ. 2011 Jun; 26(2):228-33. Sheu LC, Zheng P, Coelho AD, Lin LD, O'Sullivan PS, O'Brien BC, Yu AY, Lai CJ. PMID: 20652476; PMCID: PMC3098345.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 19     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    47. Reduced effectiveness of standard recruitment for deceased organ donor registration: the need for population-specific recruitment materials. Dig Dis Sci. 2011 May; 56(5):1535-41. Zheng P, Kornfield R, Olmo C, Guy J, Inadomi J, Biggins SW. PMID: 21221784; PMCID: PMC3082042.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    48. Modulation of acute diarrheal illness by persistent bacterial infection. Infect Immun. 2008 Nov; 76(11):4851-8. McBee ME, Zheng PZ, Rogers AB, Fox JG, Schauer DB. PMID: 18710857; PMCID: PMC2573363.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
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