There are a variety of spine conditions, and all of these spine conditions can have a variety of causes. These causes can include aging, daily wear and tear of the spine, or an injury, such as a sports injury. Fortunately, just as there are many causes and possible spine conditions that a person can develop, there are also a variety of regenerative options available to treat these conditions. Keep reading to learn more about the spine conditions our practice typically treats as well as your regenerative sports medicine options.
The Most Common Spine Conditions
There are many spine conditions that can hinder your ability to lead an active lifestyle or work. While the following list isn’t all-encompassing, it includes the most common conditions that we treat here at the Center for Sports Medicine and Wellness.
Degenerative Disc Disease: Although this condition is not actually a disease, it is one of the most common causes of lower back pain and neck pain. But if degenerative disc disease isn’t a disease, what is it? This is a condition in which natural age-related wear and tear on spinal discs lead to pain, instability, and other potentially debilitating symptoms.
Herniated Disc: Also known as a slipped disc, bulging, or protrusion, herniated discs typically only occur in the lumbar spine, located in the space between your ribs and hip. This condition is caused when the soft inner portion of the spinal disc slips out of its outer casing, affecting surrounding nerves and causing symptoms ranging from uncomfortable to debilitating.
Sciatica: This condition is also known as radiculopathy and describes symptoms of leg pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness that may travel from the lumbar spine to the leg and even the feet via the sciatic nerve.
Annular tears: As you age, it’s natural for your vertebral discs to begin to exhibit wear and cause health issues. One common issue that can develop is a tear in the annulus fibrosus of the spinal disc, also referred to as an annular tear. Annular tears can sometimes be the underlying cause of certain spine conditions, such as sciatica, herniated discs, or degenerative disc disease.
Chronic Pain: Chronic pain is a very broad term that is not necessarily a diagnosis in and of itself. It refers to pain that has lasted more than 3 to 6 months, which is beyond the window of time in which the body is typically able to heal itself. Some forms of chronic pain can be linked to an identifiable cause, like degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, or spondylolisthesis. However, other forms of chronic pain have no known or understood cause, such as fibromyalgia or neuropathic pain (nerve pain). Chronic pain can be a lifelong struggle for many patients and may also be debilitating.
Your Regenerative Sports Medicine Options
Although spine conditions aren’t always caused by sports-related injuries, sports medicine is still able to help. In addition to this, recent years have seen an improvement in regenerative sports medicine options that have allowed athletes to return to their normal level of activity as quickly as possible and with little to no limits on their mobility once fully recovered.
One of these regenerative options was created by Dr. Shiple himself. SpineRenu was developed by Dr. Shiple about 8 years ago, following his work with Workers’ Compensation patients due to undergo surgery. He knew that the likelihood of a spine surgery patient returning to work was very low, so he offered SpineRenu to some of these patients and saw great success. 80% of patients that underwent the procedure reported between 50-70% improvement in their pain, and of those who experience improvement, most were able to return to work.
What makes SpineRenu one of the best regenerative sports medicine options for patients is that this is a non-surgical and minimally invasive procedure. It has helped many patients overcome their back pain so they could get back to their active lives and get back to work.
Other Regenerative Medicine Options
Although we feel that SpineRenu is a great option for treating spine conditions, we know that each patient is different and your unique condition may require a different treatment option. Other regenerative sports medicine options that can be used to treat spine conditions and are provided here at the Center for Sports Medicine and Wellness include:
- The Discseel® Procedure
- Autologous Stem Cell Injection
- Perineural Superficial Injections
- Intradiscal Nucleolysis Treatment
Avoid Back Surgery With Regenerative Sports Medicine in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Regenerative sports medicine provides a way for patients to get successful treatment for all kinds of orthopedic and sports injury-related conditions without having to undergo surgery. We pride ourselves on being authorities in the non-operative treatment of orthopedic conditions, sports medicine, and minimally invasive treatments.
We know how important it is for our patients to get back into the game of life, whether they’re professional athletes who want to get back to their sport, someone who wants to get back to their active lifestyle, or someone who just wants to restore their mobility to get back to work. Whatever your reason for seeking treatment, we understand that minimal downtime and maximum mobility is the goal. That’s why we provide the most advanced and least invasive treatment options.
If you’d like to learn more about our services or contact us to schedule a consultation, please call our office in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, at (610) 459-4200 or fill out our form. We welcome your inquiry and we look forward to helping you find relief from your pain!