Stem Cell Injections for Back Pain: Dr. Harry Adelson: If you’ve been following my story for a while, it’s no news to you that I’ve been dealing with lower back problems for a long time. Despite being a functional medicine practitioner, I’ve dealt with back pain that no holistic method or device could relieve more than temporarily. My discs were so damaged (I’m talking desiccated and black) that I recently had to stop skiing (one of my life’s passions!), even more recently the pain was getting so severe that I had to stop riding my bicycle.
Watch my testimonial to Dr. Adelson's amazing work above.
Debilitating Back Pain: A Thing of the Past
The pain was so debilitating that year ago I had to take action. Instead of getting the commonly prescribed surgery, I decided to get stem cell injections for back pain instead. My procedure was spearheaded by Dr. Harry Adelson, who explained that there is really no good conventional treatment for a dehydrated disc other than fusion—and that fusion is a terrible option.
When you look at a dehydrated disc on an MRI, the discs look white, white, white, and then black. There's just no hydration in there whatsoever, and what stem cell therapy does is inject that site with fresh stem cells (collected from bone marrow as well as body fat).
It was about a year ago that I live-streamed the procedure on Cellular Healing TV (you can still watch the injection procedure online), and although the procedure takes months to come into its full effect— the results last for years.
About six months ago, I got a second injection done. When Adelson injected the disc the first time, the contrast material spread quickly throughout the entire disc, which is typical of a dehydrated disc. For the second injection, the contrast material did NOT spread, telling us that the disc had healed (evident from my dramatic reduction in pain).
Since my first injections, I’ve reclaimed parts of my life I didn’t even realize had suffered. Not only am I able to be fully active again— but little things like sitting in the couch and not having to fidget every 5 minutes to find a comfortable seat, are a thing of the past.
Recovery from Stem Cell Injections for Back Pain
My first stem cell injections happened while under anesthesia, so the entire procedure was painless and fast. Anesthesia is required because the extraction of stem cells from bone marrow (also known as lipoaspiration) is quite painful. It’s essentially a bone marrow aspiration, followed by multiple injections into sensitive areas of the back. This includes a stem cell epidural to put stem cells in the interface between your disc and spinal cord, followed by all the ligaments of your lower back.
Two hours later, the procedure is done and there is very little post-injection soreness. The recovery recommendations include talking it very easy for one week, taking it reasonably easy for a second week, and then two months of avoiding injury-inducing activities like mountain biking or water skiing.
Dr. Harry Adelson and the C-Arm Procedure
Dr. Adelson is the Michael Jordan of the stem cell needle. He has worked with the likes of Ben Greenfield and Dave Asprey. He uses a device called the C-Arm. The C-Arm is very low radiation, video X-ray that allows the doctor to ensure 100% accuracy with all injections. If you're going to go through the time and emotional and financial investment of having your stem cells harvested, you want to be certain they are put exactly where they're needed!
Above and Beyond with Exosome
Another way Dr. Adelson goes above and beyond is the use of exosomes in this procedure. If stem cells are the future of medicine, well exosomes are the future of stem cells. Exosomes are actually the active ingredient of stem cells; they are responsible for communicating with the stem cells in the microenvironment that you're trying to treat. So, what this lab does is take placental stem cells. These cells are these very young and robust— they manufacture and excrete these vesicles filled with growth factors that are called exosomes.
Next, they separate the stem cell from the exosomes (discarding the other person's genetic material and DNA). They are left with the substance that your own stem cells are lacking. The exosomes are then added to your own stem cells, in a sense turbocharging them. This makes them functionally behave like a younger person's stem cell. This is important because our exosomes decrease with age (making the stem cells of an older person much less ‘powerful’ than that of a younger person). By supercharging them with young exosomes, we reinvigorate our own stem cells.
Are Stem Cell Injections a Good Option?
This procedure is quite elaborate and does require a fair amount of financial investment. Some good news? The costs are dropping the more popular it becomes. To find out more you can reach out to Dr. Adelson at DocereClinics.com, where their team will have you fill out a few short forms. They will look at your MRI and offer you a free assessment to see if you are a good candidate for the procedure.
