Age, poor posture, and injury weaken spinal discs, causing cracks or tears to develop in the disc wall over time. Because spinal discs are filled with small nerve endings, these tears can develop into sources of chronic back pain in many patients. The adult disc has a limited blood supply, and therefore poor inherent healing potential. Conventional treatments for degenerated discs, which include physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, and spinal fusion surgery, are often not effective in the long-term and can come with complications.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is an outpatient procedure that uses the patient’s own blood platelet cells to address the underlying issue of disc health, rather than merely alleviate disease symptoms.
Blood is taken from the patient, processed in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, loaded into a syringe and then gently advanced into the painful disc levels under precise x-ray guidance. Growth factors are activated to help repair the tissue and the PRP fills and seals the tears in the outer wall of the disc. The beauty of PRP is that it harnesses the patient’s own innate ability to heal.
Biologic therapies like intradiscal PRP represent the beginning of a paradigm shift in orthopedics. Using a patient’s own cells, we are able to help patients not only avoid more aggressive spinal fusion surgery but also eliminate the need for long-term medications.
If you are suffering from pain, please contact our office at (516) 419-4480 or (718) 215-1888 to arrange an appointment with our Interventional Pain Management Specialist, Dr. Jeffrey Chacko.
