Dr. Sean Goddard |
Getting my "Myers Cocktail" vitamin therapy |
Degenerative disc disease pain is generally associated to be caused by inflammation and abnormal micromotion instability. The use of stem cells in many ways is a growing field in the United States. Stem cells have been used for many years in other counties with great success. It is still in clinical trials but there are providers like The Osteopathic Center in Miami that have used them with success for many different reasons - they are able to harvest a person's own stem cells and administer them back into the affected area.
Stem cell therapy is also known as a "regenerative" therapy because it is using your own body's most basic material to repair or replace damaged material. There are a few different types of stem cells, adipose cells (collected from your fat), amniotic stem cells, and bone marrow cells. At this time, I have undergone two bone marrow stem cell procedures. (If you are considering a procedure like this, you will definitely need someone to drive you and also plan for someone to care for you for a few days afterward) I was awake during the process (a local anesthetic was used) and it can be very painful. So if you have pain medication, I definitely recommend taking one and learning to meditate beforehand. Meditation has gotten me though many procedures!
PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma injections are used to speed the healing of damaged cells and tissues. Many professional athletes such as Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, and Kobe Bryant have used this therapy when healing from injuries. Blood is drawn and then put in a centrifuge to separate it. The platelet rich plasma is removed and injected back into your body in the needed area - all in one
appointment. Like the stem cell procedure, the PRP injections can also be painful so you will need to have someone to drive you and most likely will need a few days to recover.
PEMF or Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field can naturally influence electrical changes on a cellular level within the body. It is FDA approved and helps to regenerate damaged and diseased tissue, repairs torn tendons and speeds healing of bone material. It improves circulation by opening and dilating the arteries and capillaries as well as increasing the cellular level of oxygen absorption by up to 200%. While I can't say that it does or does not help my back, I also suffer from plantar fasciitis and I use this therapy for my foot and have had much fewer instances of pain in my foot.
As of May 2015, I have been doing approximately six months of these therapies that I started the end of last year. While my pain has not completely gone away, my dependence on opiate-based painkillers has decreased dramatically. While I do still have bad days and sometimes weeks, the number of them has also gone down. It took a very long time for my symptoms to progress to the point where they got unbearable. The stem cell and PRP therapies can take a minimum of a few months to up to a year or more to have their full effects realized. While I see improvement, I still have enough issues that it affects my everyday life. I plan to continue the treatments at the Osteopathic Center, but am also seeking out other options. I will do a follow-up in a few months on those as well as where I'm at in the healing and recovery process. Wish me luck!
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I found this article very helpful. There is a treatment of this stem cell which is becoming very popular.stem cell therapy.
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