Have you had stem cell therapy for back pain?

Hello @salamanca, Welcome to Connect. I've never had any spine surgeries but do have degenerative disc disease and lower back and neck issues that affect my walking. I'm 81 but really not wanting to have any more surgeries. Stem cell treatment sounds promising according to this NIH article from March 2023.

-- Helping the Body Heal Itself: Injected Stem Cells for Back Pain - Trying to coax the body into repairing vertebral discs: https://heal.nih.gov/news/stories/injected-stem-cells-back-pain

Have you done any research into the cost or locations doing this type of treatment?

Hello @salamanca, Welcome to Connect. I've never had any spine surgeries but do have degenerative disc disease and lower back and neck issues that affect my walking. I'm 81 but really not wanting to have any more surgeries. Stem cell treatment sounds promising according to this NIH article from March 2023.

-- Helping the Body Heal Itself: Injected Stem Cells for Back Pain - Trying to coax the body into repairing vertebral discs: https://heal.nih.gov/news/stories/injected-stem-cells-back-pain

Have you done any research into the cost or locations doing this type of treatment?

I have been told my multiple experts that stem cells and AI will be the things that really change the trajectory of the treatment of chronic back and other musculoskeletal issues. I have been told that there is little to no evidence based high quality research at this point to help direct spinal care treatment so we're all just guessing and hoping. AI should help with that in the future. There are pretty compelling indicators that stem cell could be a game changer. Unfortunately, after looking into to this the only stem cell treatment that is effective for the back (hip and knee may be different) is using fetal stem cell cells ( from miscarriages)which is not permitted in this country. My pain doctor uses stem cells here for knee but said I'd be wasting my money because it's not the effective stem cells for spine. He urged me to go to a clinic in Columbia where they use fetal stem cells. He's had patients go there with excellent results.

Thanks John. I wonder what Colombian clinic he was told had good results for back pain? One additional question relates to age and efficacy in octogenarians, for example.

I had 3 operations for a herniated L4 disc [one at Mayo] Now chronic lumbar pain, worsening. Seriously considering stem cell therapy for relief. 84 year old male, otherwise healthy.

Thanks Kathy. If the doctor had favorable reports of a clinic using stem cell therapy for spinal pain I will be interested to follow through.

I had 3 operations for a herniated L4 disc [one at Mayo] Now chronic lumbar pain, worsening. Seriously considering stem cell therapy for relief. 84 year old male, otherwise healthy.

Yes, I am interested but I am not a U S resident so could not become a patient. No skin off his nose in providing the clinic name in Colombia, surely?

I have been told my multiple experts that stem cells and AI will be the things that really change the trajectory of the treatment of chronic back and other musculoskeletal issues. I have been told that there is little to no evidence based high quality research at this point to help direct spinal care treatment so we're all just guessing and hoping. AI should help with that in the future. There are pretty compelling indicators that stem cell could be a game changer. Unfortunately, after looking into to this the only stem cell treatment that is effective for the back (hip and knee may be different) is using fetal stem cell cells ( from miscarriages)which is not permitted in this country. My pain doctor uses stem cells here for knee but said I'd be wasting my money because it's not the effective stem cells for spine. He urged me to go to a clinic in Columbia where they use fetal stem cells. He's had patients go there with excellent results.

@kdks99 There has been a lot of hype about stem cells for spine issues. I met a woman who is paralyzed and wheelchair bound who went to another country and had stem cell injections that didn't change anything. There is real research going on at Mayo Clinic with Dr. Bydon, a spine neurosurgeon. He has had some success with patients with spinal cord injuries and regeneration with stem cells. One of the issues with the spinal discs is that they have no blood supply. The vessels that allowed a child's spine to grown disappear in adulthood. Bone can heal and fuse and grow more cells, but I'm not aware that a cartilage disc would have that ability at this time in medical advancement. A lot depends on blood supply in healing the body and oxygen supply is needed. The research is exciting at Mayo, and worth reading about.
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/study-documents-safety-improvements-from-stem-cell-therapy-after-spinal-cord-injury/
https://www.mayo.edu/research/labs/neuro-informatics/overview
A discovery as significant as this should be published in a medical journal, so that would be where to search to see if real spine healing with stem cells is possible and why. There just isn't enough information, and there are a always people willing to take money to try something. Patients have hope, so they are willing to try unproven methods. There may be risks involved such as infection or a misplaced injection that causes damage. It's something to think about. I wonder what keeps a stem cell from differentiating into a cancer cell? We just don't know enough. Perhaps in the future, this information may change.