{"id":260624,"date":"2023-11-08T11:11:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T16:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/no-they-are-not-injecting-your-disc-regenexx\/"},"modified":"2023-11-08T13:32:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T18:32:12","slug":"no-they-are-not-injecting-your-disc-regenexx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/no-they-are-not-injecting-your-disc-regenexx\/","title":{"rendered":"No, They Are Not Injecting Your Disc! – Regenexx","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Home<\/a> \u203a Blog<\/a> \u203a No, They Are Not Injecting Your Disc!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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I often write about what I experience on a day-to-day basis. One of the more interesting scams out there is a proliferation of ex-US \u201cstem cell\u201d clinics that are telling patients that they are injecting intervertebral discs when, in fact, they are never coming close to placing cells in the disc. Let\u2019s dive into this today.<\/p>\n

What Is an Intradiscal Stem Cell Injection?<\/h2>\n

The disc is a shock absorber that lives between the vertebrae. It can degenerate, lose height, and allow sloppy movement between the vertebrae. The disc can also bulge and irritate spinal nerves. This condition is called DDD, which is short for degenerative disc disease, and can cause the back joints to get arthritic.<\/p>\n

The idea behind injecting stem cells into degenerated discs is that they will somehow regrow or rejuvenate the disc. While animal models have shown this feat to be feasible, human evidence remains very sparse<\/a>. Why? There are stark differences between the discs of rabbits and people. This is regardless of the stem cell type injected.<\/p>\n

What can be achieved? As the first human on earth to inject stem cells into a disc in 2005\/6, I have seen evidence of annular repair and resolution of disc bulges with specific cell types and placement strategies. However, this is still a far cry from growing someone a new disc in situ.<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of any compelling evidence that injecting stem cells into a human disc can regrow a new one, many patients have seized on the idea that they need to have their discs injected with stem cells. While some of these patients could benefit from a properly performed disc stem cell procedure, this demand has shaped how stem cell clinics both in and outside the US have marketed to patients. In general, after speaking with countless patients who have received these sales pitches, we have clinics that cannot perform these sophisticated intradiscal stem cell injections, claiming that they offer these procedures to gain a customer.<\/p>\n

This week, I spoke to one such patient who cited three Banana Republic stem cell clinics, who all claimed that they could inject his discs. Hence, I wanted to explore this thesis for him and the countless patients being fooled every day.<\/p>\n

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The Banana Republic Licensure Problem<\/h2>\n

When it comes to sophisticated imaged guided injections and percutaneous device placement, no country on earth approaches the U.S. for the number of physicians with advanced training who have these skills. That includes Europe, Asia, Mexico, Central America, and South America. This is a big problem for accurately placing stem cells via image guidance into the spine if your clinic is outside this country.<\/p>\n

This problem is surmountable in the Caribbean as US physicians can get licensed to practice in the islands. Despite this, few clinics will pay the fees demanded by US doctors with this skill set, but at least it\u2019s doable. This is why we placed our advanced, culture-expanded stem cell site in Grand Cayman. Our highly trained US physicians can practice there.<\/p>\n

Importing better-trained US physicians won\u2019t work in Latin America. Why? Unlike the Caribbean, where there is a long tradition of US doctors practicing part-time in the islands, these Latin American countries have their own medical education systems. The \u201clocal yocal\u201d doctors know that any US-trained physician who opens a practice will quickly outcompete any local offering. Hence, these countries don\u2019t allow US physicians to easily obtain licenses.<\/p>\n

This is why, when you look at Latin American stem cell sites, you will rarely see physicians listed, and when you do, they are usually not the right types of physicians trained to do sophisticated spine procedures. Let\u2019s take a few examples.<\/p>\n

A Few Examples<\/h2>\n

The patient above told me he was planning to go to a specific Tijuana clinic, a Panama clinic, or a Columbia clinic to get his disc injected. I laughed. Why? Let\u2019s dig in here and look at these offerings.<\/p>\n

Tijuana<\/h3>\n

No physicians are listed on this website.<\/p>\n

Panama<\/h3>\n

This clinic doesn\u2019t even list spinal injections as a specialty. The focus is on IV \u201cstem cell\u201d injections. No physicians are listed at all.<\/p>\n

Columbia<\/h3>\n

Here, we see several physicians listed, but as we go through the list, none of them are the right type of physician to perform the intradiscal procedure this patient wants:<\/p>\n