PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy for inoperable multi-level disk dis

Posted by cedarrose @cedarrose, Apr 7, 2022

Has anyone tried this therapy and what was your experience, outcome? I am dealing with a poor outcome from a TKA done 2 years ago and a long coexisting disk disease. My spine doctor told me there are too many lumbar levels involved to be able to have surgery. I assume this impacted recovery for the total knee surgery. I am now unable to walk without a cane and am very discouraged with my quality of life. Am I grasping at strays with the PRP?

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Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Apr 8, 2022

@cedarrose Hello Cedarrose, I am a spine surgery patient, and I like to follow research related to the spine. I did find this study about injecting platlet rich plasma into spinal discs. It does sound promising. This may be considered experimental and may not be covered by insurance or Medicare.

"Platelet-rich plasma injections: an emerging therapy for chronic discogenic low back pain"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5911760/

Here is another link. https://www.spineuniverse.com/treatments/prp-back-pain-help-or-hype

There is also a government study about to start with clinical trials on this for people up to 60 years old Here is the link to that information.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04816747

I am wondering about your surgeon's comment of having too many levels to be able to operate on. Surgeons can give different opinions, and you may want to get another opinion from someone else. If you are talking about lower back surgery, it is possible that doing surgery with the existing problem that you have with your knee replacements would be too much, and possibly cause more pain or disability with both of those issues together. My spine surgery was for my neck, and my doctor told me that lumbar spine surgery is a much more difficult recovery.

I understand how using an assist for walking can be disheartening. I did experience those feelings too when I broke my ankle and found out just how hard it was to navigate. I had a walker and hobbled my way around the house. My ankle still gives me pain especially when I walk on uneven surfaces. For me, this could become an issue with walking and balance in later years. I tend to think about a cane as a walking stick, and many people use those for balance when they go hiking.

Could you share what type of spine issue you have and what type of pain it is causing? Do you have other health issues that could affect healing from surgery?