Avoid Shoulder Surgery: Consider the Regenerative Alternative
Why Surgery Should Always Be Your Last Treatment Option
Spine pain is one of the most common orthopedic problems. Nearly everyone experiences some sort of back pain in their life, and it’s not uncommon for back pain to come and go.
Unfortunately, surgery is commonly presented as the only option to patients by their doctors, even when studies have shown that many of these surgeries produce no benefit and may create long-term problems around the surgical area. Often, patients may be left with more pain than they started with.
While there are times when surgery may be required, regenerative treatments are quickly becoming the preferred surgical alternative for conditions that cause spine pain. And they are an excellent alternative to steroid injections, which have their own list of significant side effects.
Regenerative treatment patients avoid the long list of surgical risks, which are often not experienced until well after the surgery. Besides the risks associated with surgery, patients deal with painful and lengthy recovery periods to regain strength and range of motion. And depending on the type of surgery, patients are likely to experience a degenerative cascade of the surrounding discs and tissues, due to fusions or other surgical procedures to remove tissue.
With regenerative treatments, patients benefit from minimal downtime and are encouraged to return to activity. We have seen plenty of regenerative patients experience a full recovery and become pain-free, even when surgery was originally recommended for their spine condition.
Common Causes of Back & Neck Pain
Many conditions and injuries can impact the spinal column and surrounding structures. Finding the correct diagnosis is the essential first step to treating the pain. Here are the spine conditions and injuries we treat:
- Spinal compression fracture
- Herniated discs
- Spinal stenosis
- Sciatica
- Spondylosis/Facet arthritis
- Degenerative disc disease
- Cervical dystonia
- Failed back/neck surgery syndrome
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Piriformis syndrome
- Whiplash
- Muscle strains and sprains
Stem Cell Treatments for Back & Neck Pain
Treating back and neck pain depends on the exact cause of the pain. Mild muscle sprains may be treated with rest and over-the-counter medications, while herniated discs may require surgery. Stem cell treatments may offer an effective treatment alternative. These are a few of the stem cell treatment options we provide.
- PRP therapy
- Prolotherapy
- Bone marrow concentrated stem cell therapy
- Human amniotic tissue allograft
Intradiscal Stem Cell Therapy for Degenerative Disc Disease
Degenerative disc disease is a common back pain diagnosis in the United States and affects millions of patients. The symptoms of the condition can become so painful that patients may be forced to miss work and are prevented from participating in regular daily activities. Treatment is often limited to conservative care such as chiropractic, physical therapy, medications, interventional pain injections, or even invasive surgical procedures to try to decrease the daily chronic low back pain. Many people even resort to relying on opioid-based medications for pain relief. Numerous studies have shown surgery improves back pain in the average patient only 30 to 40 percent of the time.
Bone marrow concentrate mesenchymal stem cell therapy can improve the average patient pain score by 70 percent with long-term follow up. Intradiscal placement of a patient’s own bone marrow concentrate mesenchymal stem cells will help reduce inflammation in the spine and may stimulate the creation of new tissue in the spinal disc to help reverse the effects of the disease. This is an office procedure performed with intravenous sedation and local anesthetic, usually taking 45 minutes. Studies have noted that patients who received higher concentrations of stem cells in their injections saw a greater improvement in their back pain. Recent three-year follow-up data suggest that utilizing a patient’s own stem cells can provide long-term back pain relief and prevent the need for invasive surgery in 77 percent of the patients.
We Can Help
Contact us today to discuss your back or neck pain and see if you are a good candidate for stem cell treatments.