See Dr. Lieber’s 4-Minute Live Cervical Procedure Video
Watch a non-surgical solution for neck pain and related headaches. Regenexx physician Dr. Lieber uses fluoroscopic real-time X-ray imaging for precise image guidance, as he injects platelet lysate into the patient’s cervical spine in order to help treat her nerve pain and cervicogenic headaches. Dr. Lieber’s procedure has been edited to 4-minutes.
Video Description and Summary (1):
Regenexx’s Dr. Lieber is pictured in the video alongside a patient lying face down on a procedural chair. The patient has had a six-month history of cervicogenic headaches, evidence of curvature of the spine, and a disc bulge in a part of her cervical spine.
- Lieber begins the non-surgical procedure with a numbing solution in the back of the neck, and then a cervical epidural, which will allow the patient to remain awake throughout the entire procedure.
- For an intricate procedure like this, it is important that the physician is able to see areas of the patient’s neck in real time. To make sure of this necessity, Dr. Lieber uses a fluoroscopic camera, which provides live video x-rays of the focused-on area.
- For the next step, Dr. Lieber injects platelet lysate, a concentrated solution of the patient’s own blood platelets, into the patient’s neck in order to stabilize the cervical spine and help with nerve pain and the patient’s bulging disc.
- Lieber then strategically injects platelet lysate into more areas around the cervical spine, including those just below the head, which will help ameliorate the patient’s headaches stemming from the cervical spine.
- Once the procedure is complete, Dr. Lieber recommends that the patient wear a soft neck collar for two days in order to stabilize the neck.
Some Things You Should Know If You Have Chronic Neck Pain
Neck pain, or cervicalgia, is a common type of pain, affecting 10-20% of adults (2). Neck pain often manifests a persistent, nagging ache at the back of the neck, a stabbing or burning pain, stiffness in the neck and shoulders, or even headache (2, 3).
Someone experiencing neck pain should see a doctor if the pain is very severe, if it persists for days without relief, if the pain shoots from the neck into the limbs, or if the neck pain is associated with tingling, numbness, headache, or weakness (2).
The Causes of Neck Pain
Neck pain is a tricky type of pain, that is, it is sometimes difficult to narrow down to one specific and treatable cause of the pain. “Neck” is actually just the common term for the cervical spine, and because of the length of the spine and its hugely important function of housing the spinal cord and many of the body’s important nerves, pain in the cervical spine can be the effect of many different causes (2).
Simple aging and regular wear and tear of the body could be the main culprit for neck pain, or pain can be caused by something as serious as a growth or a tumor in the brain or near the spine could be putting pressure on the spinal nerves (2).
Many other causes of neck pain are in part due to mental stress – one under a lot of stress might over-tighten their neck muscles. Other causes include whiplash or other related traumatic injury to the ligaments of the neck, and strain or overuse of the neck, like when leaning over a computer (2).
Ultimately, each patient’s neck pain is unique. For example in the video Dr. Lieber treats a patient experiencing neck pain and cervicogenic headaches in part stemming from a bulging disc in her cervical spine (1).
Traditional Treatments for Neck Pain
Traditional treatments for neck pain include over-the-counter pain relievers like NSAIDs or ibuprofen, or prescribed painkillers if pain is more severe (4). A doctor might recommend that a patient with neck pain take frequent breaks from working and bending over a computer, or become more active to help with neck stiffness (4). Physical therapy or a soft neck collar might also be necessary if the patient needs to stabilize their neck to help with pain (4). If no preventative measures seem to help with neck pain, then a doctor might recommend steroid shots, regenerative medicine, or even surgery (4).
How PRP Can Help Non-Surgically
Regenerative medicine like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or platelet lysate treatments can be useful to treat neck pain for certain patients. Platelet-rich plasma and platelet lysate are solutions created from a patient’s blood – a physician extracts a patient’s blood, spins it in a centrifuge to separate the different parts of the blood, and isolates the platelets and other growth factors present in the blood (5). The resulting solution that is extra-concentrated with the patient’s platelets, when re-injected into the body, will stimulate the body’s natural healing process to occur at a quicker rate of speed (5).
At Regenexx, physicians use high-level imaging guidance to observe the area of the patient’s body that is in pain, and to ensure that the PRP is injected into the exact target area (5). For example, and as mentioned in the video description, Regenexx physician Dr. Lieber used the fluoroscopic camera and injected platelet lysate into the patient’s cervical spine in order to help treat her nerve pain and cervicogenic headaches (5).
Platelet lysate is similar to PRP, but a slightly different form – the patient’s PRP is frozen and then spun down again, creating platelet lysate. This process increases the platelet concentration and splits the platelets open, which more rapidly releases the patient’s own growth factors that are necessary for healing.
Typical Outcomes for a Regenexx PRP Procedure in the Neck Area
According to the Regenexx patient registry, patients who receive treatment for cervical spine pain rate their pain prior to treatment, on average, a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most extreme pain (6). Only one month after Regenexx treatment, patients rate pain as an average 3.3 out of 10 (6). Pain level continues to decrease gradually over time (6).
Find out if you’re a Regenexx candidate for non-surgical PRP procedures to help with neck pain/cervicogenic headaches–Tap the “TALK TO AN EXPERT” BUTTON below.
SOURCES:
- https://youtu.be/DfIhB7LAQJ0
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21179-neck-pain
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/neck-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20375581
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/neck-pain/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20375587#:~:text=Besides%20taking%20pain%20relievers%2C%20self,After%20that%2C%20use%20heat.
- https://regenexxpittsburgh.com/platelet-rich-plasma/
- https://regenexxpittsburgh.com/patient-outcome-data/
