Regenerative Medicine For Low Back Pain
Low back pain is a common disabling condition affecting lots of individuals worldwide. Experts have predicted up to 75 to 85 percent of Americans will have one or more complaints of low back pain in their lifetime.
It is believed to be responsible for increasing absenteeism from work. Common causes of low back pain can be traced to lumbar strain, irritation of the nerves surrounding the lumbar spine, and more. Effective treatment of low back pain is highly dependent on accurate diagnosis.
Conventional approaches such as surgical procedures may look promising, but they pose certain risks and do not address the underlying cause of the problem. Regenerative approaches, on the other hand, address the root cause of the problem. Beyond that, they’re safe, effective, and ensure faster relief without the need for surgery.
Why Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine is an innovative field of medicine that seeks to harness the body’s healing properties to restore functionality to weakened or damaged tissues and organs. The procedures use stem cell therapy and PRP therapy to restore health to damaged tissues and joints in the body.
Hence, they find widespread utility in treating low back pain and other medical conditions, such as arthritic knees and other joints in the body. Regenerative medicine is important to providing relief to the low back for the following reasons:
Repairs Damaged Tissues Naturally
Regenerative medicine uses materials that are capable of amplifying the body’s natural healing processes. Additionally, the healing process happens using the body’s own materials such as stem cells or platelets to facilitate the healing process. For instance, PRP therapy uses injections of platelet concentrate isolated from a patient’s blood to achieve healing by stimulating growth factors to the injured tissues.
Hence, healing is natural, effective, and safe because there’s almost no risk of rejection or incidence of adverse events.
Reduces Inflammation
One of the chief causes of low back pain is inflammation around the lumbar regions. Conventional therapies rely on anti-inflammatory agents that only manage symptoms without addressing the cause of inflammation. So, relief is usually short-lived.
Regenerative medicine deploys healing factors in the body to combat inflammation and treat pain without surgery.
Avoids The Risks That Come With Surgery
Surgical options for chronic low back pain exist but they’re not without complications. Nerve damage is a major risk following surgical procedures.
Nerve damage may eventually lead to more serious pain and in some cases weakness and paralysis. Also, it takes time for healing to manifest following surgery, and incision areas are vulnerable to one or more forms of opportunistic infections.
Individuals with low back pain seeking alternative therapies can benefit from regenerative medicine.
Regenerative procedures work by naturally restoring functionality to tendons, ligaments, and tissues that surround the back and hence avoiding the need for surgery. With regenerative medicine, there’s faster healing, less downtime, and little to no risks following the procedure.
How Regenerative Medicine Relieves Low Back Pain
Two major regenerative procedures exist for treating low back pain. They both work by using the body’s own materials to achieve natural healing.
Stem Cell Therapy
Basically, stem cells are materials in the body that are capable of differentiating into any type of cell. Stem cell therapy for back pain uses mesenchymal stem cells due to their ability to self-renew.
Stem cell injections do not just renew or repair damaged tissues. They accelerate growth factors to reduce pain and inflammation in the lumbar area.
PRP Therapy
Platelet Rich Plasma(PRP) therapy is another effective regenerative procedure for relieving low back pain. PRP therapy uses the power in your own blood to relieve back pain.
Healing with PRP injections involves preparing a platelet concentrate from your blood sample and injecting it into target areas in your back. This stimulates natural growth factors to enhance themselves and facilitate healing.
PRP therapy for back pain only takes about thirty minutes, and it is very safe and effective.
Other Non-Surgical Approaches For Relieving Low Back Pain
Low back pain is a very chronic and frustrating condition. But, the good news is there are many available innovative procedures for treating the condition without the need for surgery. Here are a few non-surgical approaches for relieving low back pain.
Radiofrequency Ablation
Radiofrequency ablation is an innovative procedure that uses electric current to numb the nerve tissues and thereby inhibit them from transmitting pain signals to the brain. The procedure is minimally invasive and takes only about 30 to 45 minutes to complete. The procedure is highly effective, and recovery is fast.
Trigger Point Injections
Just as the name suggests, trigger point injections direct injections of medications directly into focal points that are implicated in the etiology of the pain. These points are centers of tension, spasms, or inflammation, and medications directly target these regions. Hence, pain relief is fast and targeted and results in little to no risk of adverse events.
Interventional Spinal Injections
One of the chief goals of non-surgical alternative treatments for chronic pain is to provide long-term relief.
Interventional spinal injections aim to improve strength and support the back by delivering medications, such as steroids and anti-inflammatories, to the lower back region. These injections may be used with other procedures to optimize the healing process and enhance faster recovery.
Schedule A Free Regenerative Medicine Consultation
Low back pain does not have to stand in the way of your quality of life and happiness. Do you have low back pain that refuses to go away? Have you tried using over-the-counter medications and yet no relief?
Look no further. You do not have to go under the knife. Feel free to schedule a regenerative medicine consultation with Dr. Ahmad, a specialist in pain management and regenerative medicine.
At Advanced Sports & Spine, our focus is to improve the quality of your life by providing non-surgical, non-opioid pain treatment in an integrative and holistic way. Contact us today for regenerative medicine for low back pain in Charlotte.