Home › Blog › Using Stem Cells to Treat Degenerative Discs: My AAPMR 2018 Presentation

Greetings from the city that Disney built! I’m in Orlando this morning, lecturing at the American Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation annual conference. My focus will be on what we know about the use of stem cells in degenerative discs and my personal experience.

This is my intro slide:

So I was the first guy dumb or smart enough to inject stem cells into a low back disc. I’ve learned much since then about what works and what doesn’t. In particular, when injecting stem cells into a disc is a waste of time and when it’s likely to help the patient. Surprised? Did you think that stem cells were magic disc pixie dust? Watch my lecture to learn more.

As a kid growing up in South Florida, who made the pilgrimage to Disney from time to time, I have fond memories of Orlando. For example, my dad would drop my brothers and me here at Disney World for the day when he had a business meeting. I’m also now old enough to recall the excitement of bringing my own kids here. In fact, my oldest son and I went to Universal last night, which also brought back memories.

The upshot? It’s a privilege to be educating my colleagues this morning on how best to use stem cells to help degenerated discs. Take a few minutes to watch my lecture and enjoy!

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