If you suffer from chronic back pain, you know how difficult it is to find lasting and effective treatment. Until yesterday, doctors prescribed drugs anti-inflammatories, physiotherapy, corticosteroid injections. In severe cases, even surgery.
Doctor Douglas Beall, lead author of a study that will be presented this week, confirms it without a shadow of a doubt. “Existing treatments are often ineffective or short-lived,” he says. And he's right. Degenerative disc disease (DDD) erodes the intervertebral discs that cushion the spine, causing chronic pain and mobility problems.
Allograft, excellent results
Today there may be a new, interesting option. A recently concluded three-year study has shown that injections of disc tissue (a allograft) can “encourage” existing cells to grow healthy tissue, providing relief from chronic pain. A relief that lasts a long time.
In the three-year study led by Dr. Beall, 46 patients with chronic back pain received disc tissue allografts, and then were monitored over time. The results? 60% of patients reported a more than 50% improvement in condition, and 70% of recipients noted a more than 20-point change in function scores.
Hope against chronic pain
According to Dr. Beall, this treatment represents a promising solution for many people living with conditions such as low back pain, which can severely impact quality of life. Not to mention the costs that fall on work (for the inevitable absences due to pain) or opioid drugs.
Allogeneic therapy offers pain relief, improvements in mobility, and a return to normal activity for a long time. All with a single, minimally invasive procedure.
We are excited to see how this new therapy will help people with chronic back pain live better lives.
