Other than autologous bone marrow derived stem cells treatments, there are really no other good options once disc degeneration has progressed to the point that it is causing severe back pain. Stem cells treatments are the only treatments that can not only stop degeneration, but also have the possibility of reversing it. The stem cells treatment is a groundbreaking new treatment that until now was not available. The important point is that we can treat the degeneration before it becomes a debilitating condition that disables us from enjoying daily activities. At that point, surgery becomes the only possible treatment option.

I have been treating spine conditions for over 30 years and have been very successful in treating many conditions. However, disc degeneration was always a very hard thing to treat and it‘s a condition that eventually effects almost everybody. Back pain is the second most common reason why most people go to doctors and degenerative disc conditions are a very common cause of back pain.

There are ways to help prevent degeneration from happening, such as yoga, eating proper foods, taking the proper supplements, paying attention to body mechanics and trying not to injure your back in the first place. However, despite all of these efforts, many of us still develop disc degeneration.

Once disc degeneration becomes severe, it can be very debilitating. For example, it could develop into a condition called spinal stenosis, which is basically almost impossible to treat without surgery. Surgery for spinal stenosis usually requires fusion and the placement of hardware in the spine which is a big operation. There is a lot of downtime afterwards and there is no guarantee that it is going to resolve the problem. This type of surgery also has a high failure rate over time and it permanently changes the normal anatomy of the body. In addition, because there is a fused segment the disc above and the disc below have to work harder and they are more prone to degeneration. There is also a risk of increased pain that is permanent after spine surgery. This is called failed back syndrome or post laminectomy syndrome and it could be a really big long term problem.

Stem cells treatments are a valuable treatment option for preventing these severe degenerative problems from happening and it is going to change the quality of life for many people. The stem cells procedure is safe and is a minor outpatient procedure, drastically different from a major back surgery. For example, there is no significant downtime; it does not at all alter the anatomy of the spine, so If you get partial improvement, it could always be repeated with no downside; and, there is also no risk of increased degeneration of the discs above and below the treated disc.

For all of these reasons, stem cells treatments are the a superior treatment for degenerative disc disease of the spine. We are very fortunate to have this modern medical breakthrough treatment available.