How Stem Cell Therapy Can Eliminate the Need for Surgery for Patients with Degenerative Disc Disease

When you suffer from chronic back pain due to degenerative disc disease, it can be difficult to decide what to do. Ideally, you want a solution that alleviates your pain, increases your mobility, and improves your overall functionality without the risks of surgery.

At Spine Group Beverly Hills, John Regan, MD, offers a variety of solutions for treating degenerative disc disease, including advanced stem cell therapy.

Understanding degenerative disc disease

Your spinal column is made up of 33 interlocking bones called vertebrae. In between your vertebrae are discs that act like shock absorbers. These cushions provide support for your vertebrae and keep them from rubbing against each other.

When these cushions break down due to age or injury, your vertebrae begin to press against surrounding nerves. This breakdown may not initially cause you pain, but if the condition progresses, it can bring about severe pain and even become disabling.

Advanced treatment vs. traditional treatment

Traditionally, people with degenerative disc disease had to undergo surgery to try and stabilize their spine and alleviate their chronic pain. Now, thanks to modern medicine, Dr. Regan can offer stem cell therapy, which encourages healing from the inside out.

Dr. Regan uses your body’s own stem cells, which have the ability to develop into many other types of cells, including blood cells and muscle cells. These cells can rejuvenate many areas of your body without surgery. An injection is all that’s needed.

How stem cell therapy works

First, Dr. Regan extracts stem cells from your bone marrow. He then injects the cells into the damaged areas of your discs to encourage the growth of healthy disc tissue. As the discs get stronger, they provide support for your vertebrae and relieve pressure on your nerves.

While surgery may be necessary if spinal damage is very severe, stem cell therapy can be the ideal solution for treating less advanced cases of degenerative disc disease.

Less complicated than surgery

Because Dr. Regan uses your body’s own stem cells, you have an excellent chance that your body will accept them. Furthermore, stem cell therapy is less risky than spinal surgery, which can require a long recovery time and increase your risk for infection and other medical issues.

While surgery requires a lot of downtime and may even result in restricted movement in the future, stem cell therapy can improve your overall health and functionality without mobility limitations or months of downtime. With stem cell therapy, you can usually resume your normal activities right after treatment.

Enjoy long-term results

Once injected into the treatment area, stem cells will continue to grow into healthy new tissue, and you can enjoy long-term pain relief without additional treatment. In many cases, stem cell therapy has given chronic pain sufferers long-lasting relief when no other treatment could.

To find out if you’re a candidate for stem cell therapy, schedule a consultation with Dr. Regan at Spine Group Beverly Hills by phone or with the online booking feature.