Regenerative Medicine: Hope for Chronic Back Pain Sufferers

What's causing your back pain, and will it ever go away?

Everybody experiences occasional aches and pains, but it's life-changing for the 843 million people predicted to experience chronic back pain by 2050. Ironically, the standard treatment plans for chronic back pain relief can be just as life-altering (and not always in a good way). But for the millions of people in pain, how they ended up there boils down to a few common causes, including:

• • Wear and tear leading to painful thinning of cartilage.
  • Although it is commonly considered an age-related condition, it isn't a normal part of aging but stems from wear and tear or improper use.
  • Health conditions such as endometriosis, fibromyalgia, kidney stones, or kidney infections (Yeah, you read that right. Inflammatory diseases cause chronic back pain.)
  • Damage to the spine and chronic pain because of trauma or impact.
  • Lifestyle factors including obesity, poor posture, or a lack of exercise.

There are lots of reasons you might be looking for chronic pain relief. If you're suffering from chronic back pain and wondering if you can find relief for your pain, we're here to tell you that it's possible! Here at Vitality Integrative Wellness, we believe regenerative medicine could be part of a sustainable treatment plan for kicking chronic back pain to the curb.

What is regenerative medicine?

Regenerative medicine can do a lot more than just cover up the symptoms of chronic back pain. It can also help your body heal the damaged tissue. And unlike surgery, regenerative medicine is less invasive. Our patients spend less time recovering after each treatment and more time getting back to their lives.

But how does it work? Regenerative medicine uses simple injections of platelet-rich plasma, prolotherapy solutions, ozone injection therapy, or cell-based allograft treatments to encourage self-healing in any area of the body where persistent pain is present. These treatment methods can help cartilage, tendons, or ligaments heal by reducing painful inflammation and restoring functionality.
There are four common regenerative medicine services we use in our offices:

• • Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy: a procedure that injects the patient's blood platelets into the affected area or joint to stimulate healing and reduce inflammation.
  • Prolotherapy: a regenerative medicine that uses a solution of dextrose and other nutrients injected into the afflicted area to stimulate tissue growth and reduce pain.
  • Tissue Allograft therapy: a procedure that involves injecting umbilical cord-derived Wharton’s Jelly into the needed area. The injection encourages tissue regeneration.
  • Ozone therapy: pure, medical-grade ozone stimulates cellular metabolism and promotes cellular rejuvenation, enhancing the body's natural healing abilities.

We've found that regenerative treatments such as tissue allograft, which can turn on the body's natural healing mechanisms, are an exciting and sustainable solution to successfully managing debilitating conditions. Our main goal is to get our patients back to living their best lives as soon as possible.

How can regenerative medicine help people find chronic back pain relief?

There are two main categories of back pain: inflammatory and mechanical. Regenerative therapy has the potential to manage both types of back pain effectively.

Treatment plans for chronic back pain relief that integrate regenerative medicine can be customized to meet each patient's unique needs, taking into account things like age, general health, and how severe the problem is for the best results. Your unique treatment plan will be designed to promote self-healing by combining your body's own solutions with cutting-edge regenerative medicine to build a healing microenvironment that might alleviate symptoms and improve the overall condition of your back over time.

Mechanical back pain

People with this condition experience tension-related back pain, producing a sharp, radiating sensation. Other symptoms may be neurological, such as tingling or numbness.

Although an injury is the likely reason for the condition's development, other causes include:

• • Spinal stenosis
  • Herniated discs
  • Zygapophysial joint pain
  • Discogenic pain
  • Vertebral fractures
  • Sacroiliac joint pain
  • Myofascial pain

Regenerative medicine can help with mechanical back pain by restoring cushion, adding stability, and reducing inflammation in places where disease or injury has caused the spine to tighten and cause unnecessary pain.

Inflammatory Back Pain

In contrast to tension-related mechanical back pain, inflammation itself can contribute to chronic pain. Ongoing inflammation in the back can aggravate your nerves and increase the number of pain signals passed on to the brain.

If inflammation is the root cause of your chronic back pain, you may suffer from:

• • Episodes of localized pain that feel as if it's gradually spreading.
  • Symptoms that come and go or persist over time.
  • Arthritis is the most common cause of inflammatory back pain.

Because it reduces inflammation in the back, regenerative medicine is beneficial in calming inflammatory back pain.

Benefits of Regenerative Medicine for Chronic Back Pain

You Keep Healing After Treatments
Regenerative medicine helps because it uses biomaterials to provide healing fluids to injured places, and these therapies also encourage your body to organically send nutrient-rich fluids to the affected area for several months after the procedure.

You Don't Jeopardize Your Spine's Integrity
Surgery can make your spine even more unstable and prone to further injury. The risks of such invasive treatments tend to far outweigh those of regenerative medicine.

You Tackle Pain From the Root Cause
Surgery is also a very symptom-focused treatment option. Regenerative medicine takes a more holistic approach by focusing on addressing the root cause and providing chronic back pain relief for the long haul.

Patient Success Stories: Regenerative Medicine for Chronic Back Pain

Lance's Story
After hearing from his doctors that a third back surgery may destabilize his spine and lead to irreversible damage to his spine, Lance Olsen started exploring safer options for managing his persistent back pain. He just about gave up. Not being able to work got him down. After learning that our clinic had helped his ex-wife take back her life, he began to wonder if integrative medicine would work for him. And it turns out we were the perfect option for Lance.

Now, at 78 years old, he's back to playing golf and feeling really good. "[After beginning treatment], I golfed three holes and thought I should quit. I might feel bad. I didn't feel bad," he told us. "It's hard to believe how far I’ve come from that part of my life."

 

Robert's Story
"[It was at] roughly a ten," Robert Young told us when we asked him how much pain he was in before he visited our clinic. He described to us how chronic pain in his lower back, neck, and shoulder had forced him to stop doing daily activities that had once brought him joy but now only made him miserable.

Due to the severity of his condition, we created an integrated treatment plan that included tissue allograft therapy, chiropractic care, and spinal decompression. Since he began treatment, he's back to doing things his back pain had stopped him from doing, like operating heavy equipment, running, and long-distance walking. With how successful his treatment has been, he's now hopeful he'll be back in the saddle (literally) very soon.

When we asked Robert how he felt about his treatment here at Vitality, he told us his biggest regret was not doing it sooner. "Don't hesitate. Come in and do it. Don't put yourself in the pain that I did.