As a freelance writer who has covered medical topics for years, I have closely followed the emergence of regenerative medicine in the U.S. I’ve done a ton of research into things like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell injections. So I was fascinated with a recent USA Today article that more or less presented regenerative medicine as a new way to approach an old problem.
The article featured a well-known prolotherapy practitioner in the Chicago area. This doctor, Dr. David Woznica, told USA Today about his own experiences in transitioning from a traditional medical school background to a clinician who specializes in prolotherapy. For the record, prolotherapy is one of a small handful of regenerative medicine therapies currently in use.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat
Dr. Woznica told of how his experience as a spine physiatrist at the Yale Spine Center made him realize that our healthcare system has a problem. Here is how he explained the problem via the USA Today piece:
“Pain occurs, physical therapy is done, injections or interventions are done if the treatment doesn’t work, and repeat. When the injections and procedures fail to work, surgery is done. When you have pain after surgery, repeat the above.”
What the good doctor describes is pretty much the ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ philosophy so many patients have experienced firsthand. It is a philosophy that says doctors will keep trying things until they find something that either works or encourages the patient to give up and go elsewhere. Having experienced this mentality myself, I do not think it is good.
Different by Its Nature
Although I have never had need for regenerative medicine, I will not hesitate to utilize it should I ever have that need. Through my research, I have come to understand that regenerative medicine is different by nature. Its main difference is one of philosophy. You can see it in the name.
Regenerative medicine is based on the assumption that the body can be encouraged to heal itself by regenerating new tissue. The trick is figuring out how to get the body to do just that. Prolotherapy, PRP injections, and stem cell therapy are all designed around that premise.
Stem Cell Therapy for Back Pain
Lone Star Pain Medicine, a Weatherford, TX pain clinic offering PRP injections, also offers stem cell therapy as a potential treatment for diseased and injured spinal discs. Lone Star doctors utilize a standard procedure of extracting stem cells from the patient being treated, then injecting those cells into the area of injury or disease.
They are quick to point out that the science on how stem cell therapy works is not quite clear. Doctors are comfortable in saying it works because patient reports confirm it. As for the mechanisms behind stem cell injections, doctors offer two possibilities:
- The stem cell injections essentially jump start the healing process, encouraging the patient’s body to begin producing new tissue to replace what has been damaged or lost.
- The injected stem cells actually become the building blocks on which the body repairs the damage.
My takeaway from years of research, combined with both the USA Today piece and information on the Lone Star website is this: regenerative medicine is designed to treat the cause of a patient’s troubles rather than simply addressing symptoms. No, I am not a doctor. I have no medical training. But it seems to me that treating root causes is a far better approach to good health than masking symptoms. Regenerative medicine is a new way to approach an old problem that doctors can’t seem to otherwise solve.
