Approximately 16 million Americans have persistent or chronic back pain. While many adults struggle with this common condition, regenerative treatments like PRP are making it possible to ease chronic pain without invasive methods.
PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, is one of the regenerative injection treatments available at Heim Regenerative Medicine Center. Patients with chronic low back pain can achieve lasting relief with PRP injections at our clinic.
Causes
This can be debilitating and keep people from enjoying their regular activities. Potential causes include:
- A lumbar herniated disc, which occurs when the center of a disc in the lumbar spine breaks through the exterior and irritates an adjacent nerve.
- A facet joint dysfunction, which can impact the facet joints in the lumbar spine.
- Degenerative disc disease, which results from gradual wear and tears on the spinal discs.
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction, as the sacroiliac joint joins the sacrum at the bottom of the spine to both sides of the pelvis.
- One of the biggest contributors to low back pain is ligament and tendon laxity. Wear and tear can cause these structures that stabilize the spine to become too loose. This causes spinal segments to move too much causing muscle spasms, pain, and further degeneration of discs.
PRP For Chronic Pain
During PRP treatment, the patient’s blood is drawn and spun in a centrifuge; this isolates the plasma from the red blood cells so that it can be injected into the treatment area.
Plasma contains a high amount of growth factors and other nutrients that are involved in the healing process. When the plasma is injected into the back for chronic pain, for example, it provides a high concentration of the body’s own healing cells straight to the area of pain. These healing components deliver the boost that the body needs to begin to heal the damaged tissue. Oftentimes, ligaments and tendons are the main pain generators in back pain but due to minimal blood flow to these tissues, it is difficult for the body to heal damage in these structures. Injecting these areas with PRP or other substances turns the body’s immune system on which can help to heal these damaged tissues, making them stronger and more stable.
PRP is non-surgical, making it a safe and convenient alternative to invasive treatment methods for chronic pain. The regeneration of the damaged tissue gradually takes place in the months following PRP treatment. Many patients require a series of PRP injections every four to six weeks to achieve the desired level of relief from low back pain.
To learn more, schedule an appointment at the Heim Regenerative Medicine Center today.
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