Dramatic Reduction in Disc Bulge with Disc Stem Cell Injection

LM is a 39 year old male with a 16 year history of severe low back and leg pain.  He underwent injection of his own cultured stem cells into his disc bulge.  His bulge was very large, so he barely met the study criteria and frankly I wasn’t optimistic about his possibilities, but he was entered into the study largely on the optimism of my partner, Dr. Schultz.  Well, LM proved me wrong this week.  He is now 7 months post procedure and is 80% better.  His films are above.  Note the very large disc bulge at the tip of the red arrow on both the before images (top is a saw you in half axial view, bottom left is a side view sagittal).  Then note the marked reduction in the size of the disc bulge seen at the tip of the yellow arrow in both matching slices on the right.  I have also highlighted the S1 nerve on the axial films (the before and after on the top)-red dot on the before, yellow dot on the left.  Note how the disc was pressing on this nerve in the before image and is now far away from the disc in the after. This also corresponds to a reduction in his leg symptoms related to this S1 nerve.  Realize all of this was accomplished with only an injection and without surgery.  Since this disc bulge had been there for a long time and was worsening before treatment, it’s unlikely this represents spontaneous resolution of this disc. As always, LM is a unique patient and not every low back disc bulge patient would be expected to do as well as LM.

(Please note, this patient was treated with the Regenexx-C cultured stem cell procedure and not Regenexx-SD.  While Regenexx-SD does rely on the same stem cell type that was used to treat these patients and other clinics have reported good results using similar procedures that don’t rely on stem cell culturing, Regenexx-SD clinical effectiveness has not yet been established.)

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Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile

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NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.

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