Stem Cell Treatment for Lower Back Pain

Discs have a lower blood supply than other body parts, which means they can't heal well once damage occurs. This biological limitation creates a chain of events that leads to chronic pain.

How Disc Degeneration Leads to Chronic Pain

Natural age-related changes usually start the disc degeneration process. Most people over 40 have some disc degeneration and more than 80% of people over 50 show changes related to degeneration. The good news is that not everyone feels pain from these changes.

The degeneration follows a clear pattern:

Discs start losing water first. Newborn discs contain about 80% water, but this decreases as we age. Less hydration means the disc can't absorb shock as well. The vertebrae move closer together, putting more stress on nearby structures.

The body's inflammatory response kicks in next. Degenerating discs release substances that cause inflammation, like tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta, and other cytokines that trigger pain. These substances break down tissue further and create an ongoing cycle of degeneration.

Nerve involvement marks the most painful stage. Only the outer part of a healthy disc contains nerves. But cracks in the annulus fibrosus let nerves grow where they shouldn't—a process called nerve ingrowth or hyperinnervation. Bone spurs might also develop on vertebrae due to increased pressure and pinching of nearby nerves.

Why Conventional Treatments Often Provide Limited Relief

Back pain treatments don't deal very well with the problem for several reasons:

• Symptom-focused rather than cause-directed: Most treatments reduce pain without fixing what causes degeneration.
• Temporary effects: Pain medications and injections only help for a while without changing how the disease progresses.
• Limited regenerative potential: Traditional treatments can't bring back disc hydration or structure after degeneration starts.

Early imaging and aggressive treatments don't always help, either. Research shows that getting early MRIs leads to more lumbar spine surgeries without making pain or function better.

Standard medical approaches miss the complex relationship between chronic pain and behavior. Fear of movement and catastrophic thinking about pain substantially increase disability. Most treatments also ignore changes in lumbar muscles and brain adaptations that limit physical performance.

We have a long way to go, but we can build on this progress. About 28% of patients still report pain more than a year after their back symptoms start. This gap in effective treatment has sparked interest in regenerative methods like stem cell therapy. These new approaches target the root causes of disc degeneration instead of just hiding the symptoms.