Ending Back Pain With Bio-Engineered Discs
Millions of people are suffering from back pain, making it a major continuous source of physical discomfort for many. Normally, each vertebra in the spine is cushioned by intervertebral discs (see figure 1). But these discs can degenerate due to age or injury, potentially pinching nerves, causing pain and impeding movement. The normal course of treatment for degenerated discs, is the administration of painkillers, physical therapy and steroid injections to ease inflammation. As a last resort, surgery to fuse two vertebra together can be done, limiting back flexibility. Artificial discs have been developed in the past few years, but these are all made of plastic or metal, and they can wear out and don’t provide a full range of motion. read more