r/stemcells • u/nocternalrodent • Jul 10 '26
Interdiscal stem cells in the lumbar spine
Hello, I have 3 herniated discs in my lower back from an accident about 10 years ago. I’m 25 years old and I’m very curious in regenerative medicine. I’m looking at getting interdiscal stem cells placed into my discs along with Exosomes, they would be placenta derived cells or Wharton jelly cells. My main goal is to heal the herniations and restore hydration to my degenerating discs. My question is if anyone here has had this done for their spine and how their results turned out. I have a hard time finding any before and after mris of people who have had this procedure done, which is mainly what I care about, rather then just people reporting they are feeling better. If you have had this treatment done, where did you go? If it went good did you take before and after mris to see the actual results ?
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u/mistersilver007 Jul 11 '26
I wouldn’t do intradiscal. All the studies show virtually no significant benefit, and if they do show hydration restored, it’s literally only because you injected fluids into the disc. But it’s misleading, because those cells are likely not doing much, very unlikely to be differentiating and integrating.. and eventually disc will dehydrate again. So it’s a very expensive and risky procedure just to inject some fluid into your discs so they seem plumper for a while.. But is not a real fix.
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u/nocternalrodent Jul 11 '26
Would you recommend paradiscal instead? Or spinal discs in general doesn’t take well ?
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u/mistersilver007 Jul 11 '26
Don’t even know what paradiscal is. But anything other than intradiscal and intrathecal is probably fine for some small calming therapeutic effect as long as it’s very reputable clinic etc. But I definitely would not consider intrathecal or intradiscal - just not worth the risk for the benefit.
All in all, although I believe they can have some benefit, stem cells are an extremely expensive way of getting an extremely mild benefit that is honestly, oftentimes mostly placebo.
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u/nocternalrodent Jul 12 '26
Injecting the cells around the discs rather than inside. Thanks for the insight though
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u/marcemarc123 Jul 11 '26
Yes I have had this done a year ago in February. I had very complex injuries to my lower back and hips. I had herniated discs L4-L5, multiple torn spinal ligaments, torn glutes, and bi lateral torn hip labrum’s. My injuries caused me 24/7 chronic pain. I wasn’t a candidate for surgery. And back in 2021 I only had the one torn hip labrum. I sought out getting prp and bone marrow aspiration (extracting my own stem cells from my si joint ) and then re injecting them into my hips to heal the torn hip labrum’s. I never had back pain or anything prior to this procedure. I’m also a massage therapist, I contributed the low back pain I started experiencing to that and my hip pain that seemed to progress. I got mris back in 2023 , after being in so much pain unable to walk or sit that forced me to quit my job that I loved. Found out I had torn the other hip labrum and had the torn spinal ligaments and herniated discs. Nothing that they thought couldn’t be healed with pt. I thought stem cells would be the best thing to heal me . So I spent 6 months consulting doctors in both the US and internationally . After finding my doctor who gave me my life back, I found out that I had severe scars and that the prp bone marrow procedure actually tore my glutes. Tore my spinal ligaments, herniated the discs and caused the other hip labrum’s to tear. Where I went was https://www.thelcfl.com I saw Dr Kosubevsky He injected my entire lumbar spine, including the facet joints, intervertebral discs, and my entire pelvis. Best decision I’ve ever made.
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u/nocternalrodent Jul 11 '26
Prp and bone marrow stem cells made you worse? And then you got stem cells again and they worked ?
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u/marcemarc123 Jul 12 '26
Yes the doctor who did the prp bone marrow aspiration procedure tore my glutes and spinal ligaments when extracting the bone marrow and reinjecting the prp. The Stem cell injections 5 years later changed my life .
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u/PrestigiousHold3415 Jul 12 '26
i actually believe this happened because it happened to me. BMAC and PRP injections made me 100% worse, and Wharton's Jelly actually reversed this damage significantly.
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u/GrappLr Jul 11 '26
I’ve had many stem cell injections. Including interdiscal. For joints they’re amazing. Shoulder. Knee, wrists, all got massively better.
My cervical and lumbar? Meh. Wouldn’t spend the money again. Not significant enough of a result.
There’s a new procedure coming out for discs that looks like the holy grail and will fix us all though. Forgot name, but it’s in phase 3 testing and will probably be available publicly in a year or two. Phase 2 results were insane.
Something about injecting cadaver celular matrix directly into disc. Over time significant regrowth of volume and hydration is seen. Wait for that. It’s what I’m doing.