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Alternative Herniated Disc Treatments In Winooski, VT

321 Main Street, Suite C Winooski, VT 05404

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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

321 Main Street
Suite C
Winooski, VT 05404

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Doctors

Dr. Fenton has been performing fluoroscopic (X-ray) and ultrasound guided injections since 2003, platelet-rich plasma injections since 2006, and bone marrow concentrate injections since 2012. To date, he has successfully completed hundreds of bone marrow concentrate procedures and thousands of PRP procedures for a variety of joint, ligament, tendon, and spine conditions.

He teaches orthopedic medicine and diagnostic and interventional musculoskeletal ultrasound for several organizations across the USA and Mexico. He was the ultrasound course director for the American Association of Orthopedic Medicine. He has also taught many physicians in the licensed Regenexx network diagnostic and interventional ultrasound. Dr. Fenton’s protocol for hip dilation and mobilization are now part of Regenexx’s proprietary methods.

He is an avid bicyclist and alpine skier, as well as a former certified professional ski instructor, and lives with his family in the Champlain Valley of northwestern Vermont.

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Kelsey Albert, DO is a fellowship-trained, board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician specializing in sports, spine, and orthopedic regenerative medicine. She strives to maximize function, performance, and quality of life for her patients and help them stay engaged in the activities and sports that they love.

Dr. Albert graduated from Union College in New York magna cum laude with a degree in neuroscience and then obtained her medical degree from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine. Following medical school, she completed her residency at Albany Medical Center in New York, where she served as chief resident. She then continued her training in Napa, California for a specialized fellowship in Interventional Spine, Sports and Regenerative Medicine where she worked with Dr. Marko Bodor to refine her skills in image-guided injections, utilizing both ultrasound and fluoroscopy.

Prior to her medical career, Dr. Albert grew up skiing in Killington, Vermont and competed as a freestyle/mogul skier at the World Cup level. After years of training, she is fortunate enough to return to Vermont as a physician in the licensed Regenexx network to practice medicine with her mentor Dr. Jonathon Fenton at Vermont Regenerative Medicine in Winooski, VT. Beyond her professional pursuits, Dr. Albert remains an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys mountain biking, backcountry skiing and adventuring with her friends and family.

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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).

How To Treat a Herniated Disc Without Surgery

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.

Treatment for herniated discs may include a Regenexx PL-Disc Procedure. The PL stands for platelet lysate, which is a highly specialized derivative of PRP.

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.

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

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Please note our procedures are only covered by self-funded health plans at this time.

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What about health insurance or medical benefits? What may be covered or reimbursed depends on the details of your plan. Insurance typically covers evaluations and diagnostic testing (if recommended) but most do not cover Regenexx Procedures. Some Employer specific Regenexx Benefits plans do also cover Regenexx Procedures. Your plan’s representative can help verify your benefits, out-of-pocket costs, and coverage.

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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
Watch Webinar

Learn More About Herniated Discs

How to Heal a Herniated Disc Naturally

Alternatives to Back Surgery for Herniated and Bulging Discs

Herniated Disc Recovery Time: More Whole Body Inflammation Predicts Poor Recovery From a Herniated Disc

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