Alternative Herniated Disc Treatments In Miami, FL

4960 Southwest 72nd Avenue, Suite 408 Miami, FL 33155

The discs in your spine are the shock absorbers between your vertebrae (spinal bones). They have a tough outer covering called the annulus fibrosus that encases a soft, gel-like substance called the nucleus pulposus. 

A disc herniation happens when the outer covering is ruptured and the gel escapes the disc. This causes the disc to put pressure on and irritate the spinal nerve roots or spinal cord, leading to pain around the area of the disc (localized pain) and causing pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness to radiate to the arms and legs (radicular pain).

Herniated discs are sometimes referred to as slipped or ruptured discs. However, they are not the same as a disc bulge or protrusion, where the gel-like material is still contained within the disc.

Medical illustration showing a normal or healthy spinal disc and a herniated spinal disc side by side.
Anatomy of a normal spinal disc vs. a herniated spinal disc side-by-side.

More conservative treatment options include acupuncture, physical therapy, prescription medications, and high-dose epidural steroid injections. While steroid injections can temporarily help the pain, they can cause severe side effects and reduce your body’s ability to heal.

If none of these work, the next course of treatment is usually back or neck surgery that cuts away a portion of the disc. However, this approach can leave the disc weaker and more likely to be injured again. The final option is often an extremely invasive spine surgery (spinal fusion) in which two vertebrae are permanently joined together with hardware.

Studies have shown that in the majority of cases herniated discs (also known as slipped or ruptured discs) the pain will go away on its own. The key is staying comfortable and being able to remain active while that happens.

However, a smaller percentage of people experience severe and longer-lasting pain. 

Our nonsurgical treatments for herniated disc problems can offer relief from lower back, buttock, and leg pain and numbness and tingling in the feet or legs. Downtime is a fraction of what it is with surgery and generally requires little or no opioid pain medications or time off of work.

Regenexx PL-Disc: Avoiding the harmful side effects of epidural steroids and back surgery

4960 Southwest 72nd Avenue
Suite 408
Miami, FL 33155

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Doctors

Dan Marin, MD grew up as an athlete in the outdoor sunshine, playing every stick and ball sport possible as a kid. When not doing that he was fishing and diving in the South Florida Paradise.

His fascination with this environment, lead him to high school at MAST Academy where he excelled in Science and Math. In sport, he migrated toward rowing where he was a stand out leader and athlete. He was recruited to row in college, and was a division, 1A varsity collegiate rower at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

His interest in science and the human condition led him to obtain his first degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Miami, where his lab work focused on protein analysis of intercellular GAP junctions. He wanted to be engaged with humans and science, which drove him to medical school at the University of Miami, where he was accepted and matriculated.

His interest in the surgical and medical side of being a physician led him to a transitional internship at Yale New Haven Hospital.

His interest in sport, biomechanics, and treating “the whole human” led him to residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where he excelled and was elected Chief by his peers and faculty.

Spending much time as a resident at the world renowned Emory Orthopedic & Spine Center, and being exposed to mentors like Michael Schaufele MD and Kenneth Mautner MD, led him to a fellowship and career focusing on Interventional Spine, Sports and Non-Operative Care. While there he performed and published research in the area of outpatient interventional outcomes and safety.

Eventually, after being a faculty member at the University of South Florida in the Department of Neurosurgery, as well as consulting and in development of the arena of the human component in Motorsport; he and his wife moved back to South Florida where Dr. Marin, began private practice. Here he had the great opportunity to form a clinic based the musculoskeletal model/ chain, of which we all naturally live by. This was the foundation of ProformMD.

Dr Marin believes “deep down, we are all athletes, our cells/ body, want us to exercise, and this is the key to longevity… it’s our job as clinicians to provide the tools and remove obstacles for our patients to meet their goals and live better.” His professional directive has been to build an environment with all the highest quality professionals to accomplish this task.

Dr Marin has said, “When someone suffers an initial injury this can be an obstacle for function for the rest of their life.”

Proform ACTIV, aka ACTIV, was started to address this specific issue. Knowledge of regenerative tissue science and use of Orthobiologics through interventional orthopedic techniques to un impede patients and put them on the path to recovery is the philosophy of this component of the clinic. This is the first step to get back to your “athletic-self” if you have encountered injury, degenerative wear, or overuse. After treatment, focus can then be on getting back into normal motion, and then on raising the performance bar.

Dr Marin remains passionate everyday about making his patients the best musculoskeletal version of themselves science, technology and training can provide.

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Dr. William J. Bonner was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. He attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physics with a minor in Mathematics. After college, he earned his Doctor of Medicine from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ, and subsequently he completed Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at the Temple University Hospital and Moss Rehab program in Philadelphia, PA where he was elected Chief Resident during his final year of training. Following residency, he pursued a fellowship in Spine, Sports, and Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Bonner is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is also board certified in Pain Medicine by the American Board of Pain Medicine.

In his practice, he provides comprehensive, interventional spine and musculoskeletal care. He performs ultrasound-guided and fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures for various causes of pain. He has taken a special interest in the exercise-based rehabilitation of spine and musculoskeletal injuries and uses his knowledge of these methods to provide patients with long term solutions to their ailments.

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Areas Treated

Cervical Spine (Not Upper Cervical or CCI)*, Elbow, Foot & Ankle, Hand & Wrist, Hip, Knee, Lumbar Spine, Shoulder, Thoracic Spine

*This provider is NOT authorized by Regenexx to treat the C0-C1 or C1-C2 levels of the neck or CCI (craniocervical instability).

Below are MRI images of the outcome of a patient who had a Regenexx PL-Disc procedure to treat a subligamentous disc herniation. After the procedure, their pain dropped quickly, and they returned to their normal activities within weeks.

Scroll the arrow to the right to see the MRI of the disc before the Regenexx PL-Disc procedure — the white/lighter area indicates damage. Scroll to the left to see the MRI of the disc after. The images are two years apart from the original treatment date.

Herniated disc before and after MRI images 1

Herniated disc before and after MRI images 2

Older man working on laptop, smiling, looking at screen, drinking tea.

Join Chris Centeno, MD, founder of Regenexx, to learn how Regenexx procedures can help treat your herniated disc without surgery and lead to a faster recovery.

During this free webinar you’ll learn:

  • How procedures using bone marrow concentrate (BMC) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) compare to surgery and other spine pain treatment options
  • Procedure expectations
  • Answers to the most common questions about regenerative medicine treatments
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