Cell Therapy in the Treatment of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Abstract

Approximately 80% of the world population experiences some type of back pain at some point in their life, and in 10% of this population the pain causes chronic disability resulting in a high cost for the treatment of these patients, in addition to compromising their work and social interaction abilities. Current treatment strategies include the surgical procedure for degenerated intervertebral disc resection, the nerve root block and physiotherapy. However, such treatments only relieve symptoms and do not prevent the degeneration of intervertebral discs. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies have emerged and include manipulating cells to recover the degenerated disc. This article will discuss the possible cell therapy alternatives used in the disc regeneration process, featuring a descriptive study of translational medicine that involves clinical aspects of new treatment alternatives and knowledge of basic research areas, such as cellular and molecular biology. Level of evidence V; Expert Opinion.

Kinesiotaping in Discopathies and Degenerative Spinal Diseases: Systematic Review

“…8 The conservative option, cell therapy, and surgery are among the different treatment modalities. 9,10 The recommended initial treatment is generally conservative; it usually consists of therapeutic exercise, application of different physical agents in physical therapy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and injection of analgesics, although in specific cases, the surgical option allows for a quicker return to work. 8 Neuromuscular Taping (NT) or kinesiotaping was developed in Japan in the 1970s.…”