Intervertebral Discs
Intervertebral discs are fibrocartilage cushions located between the vertebrae of the spine, providing support, flexibility, and shock absorption. They act as crucial structures, enabling movement while preventing bone-on-bone contact and facilitating spinal stability.
Subscribe to the BlogInterspinous Spacers: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread or a Bad Idea?
Lumbar stenosis is a big problem that can make it hard to stand upright, so invasive surgery is often recommended. However, over the last five years, a new device category called an interspinous spacer has emerged that promises to solve this problem with minimally invasive surgery. However, is this a good idea? Let’s dig in.…read more
Could a New Hydrogel Help DDD?
Degenerative disc disease or DDD is a common problem. While lots of therapies have been discussed, there is still no reliable way to grow people a new disc. A recent small study on an injectable hydrogel was recently hyped in the media as maybe solving this issue? Let’s review that new data. What is DDD?…read more
Lumbar Stenosis Treatment Without Surgery
One of the more amazing changes in our spine practice over the last several years has been on how we look at lumbar stenosis. I’ve gone from referring almost all of these patients to surgery to referring very few. Why? We reimagined what was going on with these patients. Lumbar stenosis treatment without surgery is…read more
New Before/After MRI Images: Stem Cell Disc Bulge Treatment
I’ve blogged a few times on patient JS. I’ve been treating him on/off for 16 years for various problems. This week I’m treating him at our licensed site in Grand Cayman. About eight years ago, I treated his L5–S1 disc with specially cultured stem cells. A little more than two years ago, I treated his…read more Watch a Stem Cell Disc Treatment: Step into Our Procedure Suite with Dr. Pitts
With over 2,000 posts on this blog, I’ve given you a lot of material to read over the years about what we do; however, there’s nothing quite like watching an actual procedure. I hope you are enjoying this series of videos allowing you to step into one of our procedure suites so you can observe…read more Pain After Back Fusion: Adjacent Segment Disease
Your spine is built for movement, but it also has to be stable. In essence, it’s this duality that confuses many physicians and patients and often leads to a back fusion, which stops movement in patients with degenerative or painful back issues, such as degenerative disc disease, and spinal stenosis (arthritis that’s putting pressure on nerves). But…read more Stem Cells for Disc Regeneration?
Across the Internet right now, you can find countless websites advertising stem cells for disc regeneration. Is this for real or is it a scam? A recent patient post on our RIP fusion blog can help explain what’s real and what’s likely not. What Is a Degenerated Disc? The reason for trying to regenerate a…read more What is a Disc High Intensity Zone on MRI?
You have low back pain and get an MRI performed and on the report it says you have a “high intensity zone” in one of your low back discs. What does a high intensity zone on MRI mean? Is it a big deal and is it causing your pain? The low back discs have an…read more 