Non-Surgical Treatment For Spinal Stenosis In Atlanta, GA

371 E Paces Ferry Rd NE, Suite 802 Atlanta, GA 30305

Each spinal vertebra (spinal bone) has a hole in the middle — the spinal canal — through which the nerves and spinal cord run. When structures inside or outside the spinal canal put pressure on these nerves, it’s called spinal stenosis.

Because the nerves that run through the spine are pain-sensitive and connect to your legs, you can get lower back pain as well as weakness or numbness in your legs or feet. People with spinal stenosis tend to suffer from standing intolerance, and standing for any length of time can cause back pain or leg symptoms that immediately improve once they sit down.

medical illustration showing a healthy spinal disc and a

How Is Spinal Stenosis Commonly Treated?

Common more conservative treatments include physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, and high-dose epidural steroid injections to help reduce swelling around the nerves. However, although steroid injections temporarily help the pain, they can have severe side effects and reduce your body’s ability to heal. 

If all of the above fails, spinal stenosis is treated with surgery to decompress the area, which often means removing bone, disc, and ligaments around the tight spot in the spinal canal. Other times, spinal fusion surgery is performed (hardware is inserted to bolt the spinal bones together), but this can lead to adjacent segment disease (ASD), where areas above and below the fusion can get damaged over time. 

Additionally, spinal surgery comes with significant downtime.

That’s why we’ve developed a different approach.

371 E Paces Ferry Rd NE
Suite 802
Atlanta, GA 30305

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Doctors

When working with patients, Dr. Williams wholeheartedly believes in a holistic approach to medicine and takes pride in building a partnership with each patient so that they can learn the skills to be able to achieve their functional goals in life.

He is the founder and medical director of Interventional Orthopedics of Atlanta, the first physician in the licensed Regenexx network in the state of Georgia, and his research interests include polypharmacy in the elderly, musculoskeletal ultrasound education, and regenerative medicine for orthopedic conditions.

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Williams enlisted into the Air Force after high school.
Before attending medical school, he taught elementary school science to at-risk youth for a year. Then, while in residency for physical medicine and rehabilitation, he was awarded the resident of the year award three years in a row.

During his personal time, he enjoys traveling with his family, weight lifting, cooking, and outdoor activities.

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Dr. Virlyn L. Bishop has been a well-respected Interventional Pain Management Physician in the Atlanta area for over 10 years. His experience in Interventional Pain Management has included traditional interventional techniques. Over the course of his private pain practice, he also developed expertise in performing minimally invasive surgical techniques for spine pain.

In the latter years of his traditional interventional pain management career, Dr. Bishop became more acutely aware of the trusted and excellent results that Interventional Orthobiologics (PRP, Bone Marrow Concentrate, which contains Stem Cells, Prolotherapy) offered to patients seeking trusted alternative therapeutic options to traditional interventional pain management therapies and to avoid major surgical interventions.

Looking to build upon and further improve patient outcomes that traditional approaches to treatment of spine and orthopedic pain were unable to address, Dr. Bishop began to study medical disciplines that focused on more holistic and nonsurgical approaches to treating patients. This pursuit naturally led Dr. Bishop into the field of interventional orthopedics. Dr. Bishop is excited to join the Interventional Orthopedics of Atlanta and the Regenexx team to further his goal of partnering with patients and empowering them in their pursuit of not just a longer lifespan but a higher quality health span.

A native Georgian, Dr. Bishop completed his undergraduate and medical school education at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He then completed his Anesthesia Residency and Pain Medicine Fellowship through the Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Bishop has further expanded his education post residency/fellowship with ongoing courses through the Interventional Orthopedics Foundation in regenerative medicine techniques as well as courses through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. He is a Contributing Editor to “Advanced and Emerging Interventional Techniques” Chapter 35 Williams, C. et al., Atlas of Interventional Orthopedics Procedure, Elsevier. 2023

Dr. Bishop resides in Marietta, GA with his wife and 4 children. His personal interests include reading, gardening, musical instruments, exercise and spending time with his family.

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My father was a physician, and his connection with and ability to help his patients initially sparked my interest in medicine. By the time I was six, I was positive I wanted to become a physician as well. I am fascinated by the mechanics of the human body and employ a holistic, science-based approach to my practice. I have an upbeat, hopeful, and positive attitude with patients and am passionate about providing care that improves quality of life and function so people can be healthy, move, and enjoy life.

Originally from Houston, TX, I have lived in Atlanta for 19 years. I love Atlanta’s vibrant culture, mild seasons, green landscape, and access to travel.

I am in my 19th year of practice as a physician. I hold a BS in Biomedical Engineering, which informs my structural and mechanical understanding of the human body. Between college and medical school, I worked for Lockheed Martin as a Mission Support Scientist on the Shuttle-Mir Space Program in Houston and Moscow. I am double board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. I served as Chair of the AAPM&R Opioid Task Force, penning the opioid position paper. I am a member of the American Medical Association Pain Care Task Force. I have held multiple other leadership roles at AAPM&R and North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), am active in research in spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, intrathecal therapy, and spinal cord injury, and have been an active lecturer at regional, state, national and international meetings over the past two decades. I have expertise in complex neuropathic pain phenomenon, such as spinal cord injury, CRPS, MS, and brain injury. I have served as an adjunct assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine for nearly 19 years.

I cherish time with my wonderful wife and our three amazing children. I also enjoy daily exercise, reading, traveling, watching movies, and walks with my family and our dog. I have not served in the military, but I have tremendous respect for those who have. My father, grandfather, and grandfather-in-law were veterans.

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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).

During Regenexx’s outpatient procedures, custom concentrations of your body’s natural healing agents are injected into the exact areas of damage in the spine. Treatments use only your own blood to make super-concentrated platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or your own bone marrow concentrate (BMC), which contains stem cells.

Spinal stenosis treatment may include Regenexx-DDD protocol, which is the world’s first alternative to stenosis surgery that allows you to maintain your normal anatomy. Best of all, your downtime will be a fraction of what it is with surgery and generally requires little or no opioid pain medications or time off of work.

Am I a candidate?
Mature 60s woman in earphones look at laptop screen watch webinar online at home.

Join Chris Centeno, MD, founder of Regenexx, to learn how Regenexx procedures can help treat your back pain 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
Watch Webinar

At Regenexx, we want the best outcomes for everyone. So we’ve developed a process to determine if our treatments may be right for you.

During your initial appointment, your Regenexx doctor will use our four-part SANS (stability, articulation, neuromuscular, and symmetry) evaluation to identify the underlying causes of your pain. Your doctor will examine your injury through a full range of motion and may use ultrasound to observe the inner workings in real time.

This is important, as research shows that an MRI indicating stenosis isn’t enough to appropriately diagnose stenosis as the cause of back pain.

Am I a candidate?

Watch a real Regenexx spinal procedure performed by a certified Regenexx physician:

Our goal is to use the least invasive, least expensive procedure to get the desired results. Your Regenexx physician will work with you to determine whether that would be a platelet procedure or a BMC procedure.

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