Robert B. Saper, MD MPH
Professor, Family Medicine
Biography
Dr. Saper is the Director of Integrative Medicine for the Boston Medical Center Department of Family Medicine and Professor in the Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Saper attended Brandeis University for his undergraduate education. After graduating Harvard Medical School in 1988, he completed a family medicine residency and chief residency at UCSF from 1988-92 and was in private practice for 8 years in the San Francisco Bay area. While in California he worked closely with Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversal of Heart Disease. In 2000 he moved back to the Boston area and retooled professionally by entering the three year NIH-funded Integrative Medicine Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School which included an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. As a fellow, he published the first nationally representative survey of yoga use in the United States.
In 2004 he joined the Boston University faculty and medical staff of Boston Medical Center where he directs the Program for Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities. The mission of the Program is to bring evidence-based integrative medicine approaches to all, regardless of ability to pay. Soon after arriving at Boston Medical Center, he received a five year Academic Career Development Grant from the NIH National Center for Complementary Alternative Medicine. With this support, he published a pilot study of yoga for chronic low back pain in predominantly low income minorities recruited from federally qualified community health centers. In 2010 Dr. Saper was funded by the NIH to conduct a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness and cost of yoga, physical therapy, and education for back pain in 320 adults. He is also funded by NIH to study yoga for back pain in veterans. Other major areas of research include the safety and efficacy of traditional Indian herbal medicines. Dr. Saper is the Past Chair of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health.
Other Positions
- Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health
Education
- Harvard University, MD
- Harvard School of Public Health, MPH
- Brandeis University, BA
Classes Taught
Publications
- Published on 10/1/2020
Berlowitz J, Hall DL, Joyce C, Fredman L, Sherman KJ, Saper RB, Roseen EJ. Changes in Perceived Stress After Yoga, Physical Therapy, and Education Interventions for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Pain Med. 2020 Oct 01; 21(10):2529-2537. PMID: 32500130.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/14/2020
Roseen EJ, Gerlovin H, Felson DT, Delitto A, Sherman KJ, Saper RB. Which Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Respond Favorably to Yoga, Physical Therapy, and a Self-care Book? Responder Analyses from a Randomized Controlled Trial. Pain Med. 2020 Jul 14. PMID: 32662833.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/11/2020
Louis CJ, Herrera CS, Garrity BM, McDonough CM, Cabral H, Saper RB, Kazis LE. Association of Initial Provider Type on Opioid Fills for Individuals With Neck Pain. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2020 08; 101(8):1407-1413. PMID: 32437688.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/23/2020
Garrity BM, McDonough CM, Ameli O, Rothendler JA, Carey KM, Cabral HJ, Stein MD, Saper RB, Kazis LE. Unrestricted Direct Access to Physical Therapist Services Is Associated With Lower Health Care Utilization and Costs in Patients With New-Onset Low Back Pain. Phys Ther. 2020 01 23; 100(1):107-115. PMID: 31665461.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/18/2019
Gardiner P, Luo M, D'Amico S, Gergen-Barnett K, White LF, Saper R, Mitchell S, Liebschutz JM. Effectiveness of integrative medicine group visits in chronic pain and depressive symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. 2019; 14(12):e0225540. PMID: 31851666.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/30/2019
Roseen EJ, Gerlovin H, Femia A, Cho J, Bertisch S, Redline S, Sherman KJ, Saper R. Yoga, Physical Therapy, and Back Pain Education for Sleep Quality in Low-Income Racially Diverse Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: a Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial. J Gen Intern Med. 2020 01; 35(1):167-176. PMID: 31667747.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/20/2019
Kazis LE, Ameli O, Rothendler J, Garrity B, Cabral H, McDonough C, Carey K, Stein M, Sanghavi D, Elton D, Fritz J, Saper R. Observational retrospective study of the association of initial healthcare provider for new-onset low back pain with early and long-term opioid use. BMJ Open. 2019 09 20; 9(9):e028633. PMID: 31542740.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/22/2019
Keosaian J, Venkatesh T, D'Amico S, Gardiner P, Saper R. Blood Lead Levels of Children Using Traditional Indian Medicine and Cosmetics: A Feasibility Study. Glob Adv Health Med. 2019; 8:2164956119870988. PMID: 31489260.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/1/2019
Carey K, Ameli O, Garrity B, Rothendler J, Cabral H, McDonough C, Stein M, Saper R, Kazis L. Health insurance design and conservative therapy for low back pain. Am J Manag Care. 2019 06 01; 25(6):e182-e187. PMID: 31211551.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/25/2019
Delitto A, Patterson CG, Stevans JM, Brennan GP, Wegener ST, Morrisette DC, Beneciuk JM, Freel JA, Minick KI, Hunter SJ, Ephraim PL, Friedman M, Simpson KN, George SZ, Daley KN, Albert MC, Tamasy M, Cash J, Lake DS, Freburger JK, Greco CM, Hough LJ, Jeong JH, Khoja SS, Schneider MJ, Sowa GA, Spigle WA, Wasan AD, Adams WG, Lemaster CM, Mishuris RG, Plumb DL, Williams CT, Saper RB. Study protocol for targeted interventions to prevent chronic low back pain in high-risk patients: A multi-site pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (TARGET Trial). Contemp Clin Trials. 2019 07; 82:66-76. PMID: 31136834.
Read at: PubMed
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