Asif Zardari suffering from acute spinal cord pain: Azra Fazal Pechuho

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari is suffering from acute spinal cord pain, according to his sister, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho.

Dr Azra, who is also the provincial minister of health, said that Zardari is suffering from severe pain in the spinal cord's S4, S5 and L1 area.

L1 is known as the Lumbar spine. It is located below the cervical and thoracic section of the spine on the lower back and is triangle-shaped. The L1 controls the communication of the brain with the leg. The S4 and S5 are also located on the lower side of the spinal cord.

These S1 to S5 sections are called Sacral Spine that together affect nerve communication to the lower portion of the body.

Dr Azra said that Zardari's condition had worsened as he had to travel from jail to city court in an armour van. When asked regarding treatment in Pakistan or abroad, she said that it was very unfortunate that there was not a single spinal cord surgeon in Pakistan.

She requested the government to provide her brother proper treatment on humanitarian grounds.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an orthopedic surgeon at Jinnah Hospital, Karachi, said that the disorder was treatable at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC). 

Stating that it was an old age disorder, the proper treatment for L1 ,S4 and S5 are physiotherapy, medicines and rest.