Pune: After consulting more than 20 doctors and trying all forms of conventional and alternative treatments for six years to get relief from neck pain and numbness in hands, cell-based therapy at Adigos Stem Cells helped 37-year-old Vandana Patil (name changed) to get rid of cervical spondylosis.
Cervical spondylosis (CS) is a common condition that causes neck pain, numbness in hands and even headache. Though peak incidence of CS is in the 4th and 5th decade of life, an approximate prevalence of 3.3 cases per 1,000 individuals has also been described in young individuals. Degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs occur with age along with osteophyte (bony spur like) formation. Despite the fact that CS occurs commonly due to age-related wear and tear of spinal disks in the neck region, it may also happen at an early age due to improper posture or traumatic incidents.
While painkillers and physiotherapy provide temporary relief from symptoms, most patients are prescribed steroids and ultimately surgery, especially in cases of nerve involvement.
Vandana first developed pain in the neck region when she was 30 years old. She was advised MRI, which showed nerve pinch in relation to the vertebrae in the neck region and was diagnosed with CS.
She consulted 18 to 20 doctors and tried all forms of conventional, alternative medicine, rehabilitation therapies, but none gave her relief. After consulting Dr Pradeep Mahajan, regenerative medicine researcher regarding cell-based therapy, she was advised one session of cell-based therapy. This was coupled with CellSonic Very Intense Pressure Pulse (VIPP) therapy, based on the principle of shock waves for pain management.
Tremendous improvement was observed within a week following the therapy.
Dr Mahajan said, “Exact epidemiological data regarding the prevalence of CS is not available as many individuals, especially youngsters, tend to ignore signs and symptoms until advanced stages of degeneration. In CS, disk degeneration is associated with damage to the extracellular matrix components and thus limits self-repair mechanisms. With cell-based therapy, we can achieve regeneration of the damaged tissues through the varied properties of mesenchymal cells (self-renewal, multi-differentiation ability, anti-inflammatory and other paracrine effects).”
He added, “VIPP therapy is based on the principle that shock waves stimulate healing and also increase the expression of growth factors required for neoangiogenesis. With our combined protocol of mesenchymal cells and CellSonic VIPP, we have been able to achieve quick and definite results in a minimally invasive manner.”
Cervical Spondylosis in Younger Population
Although CS is more commonly seen in people over 50 years old, nowadays more youngsters are suffering from it due to a change in lifestyle.
Lack of physical exercise, sedentary lifestyle, poor posture at work and lack of Vit D, B12, calcium and proteins are common causes. Widespread overuse of mobile phones is resulting in a harmful condition called as ‘text neck’, which causes muscles and ligaments on the back of neck exposed to abnormal mechanical stress leading to early wear and tear.
Preventive measures like correct posture while using mobile phones or computers, regular breaks and exercises which focus on strengthening of core and abdominal muscles and muscles of upper back and neck can help in avoiding serious problems.
