Becker’s Spine Review Interview: Dr. Haines on Mapping Regenerative Medicine Therapies’ Future in Spine Care

As seen in Becker’s Spine Review

“Becker’s Asks”
Question: In 10 years, will regenerative medicine become more mainstream in spine?

Colin Haines, MD. Spine Surgeon, Virginia Spine Institute (Reston, Va.):
The field of regenerative medicine will continue to grow. In general, spine surgeons have been slow to adopt new technology. Less invasive approaches to surgical solutions became widespread much faster in many other areas of the body. Similarly, regenerative medicine has hit the ground running more rapidly in spine care than in fields such as orthopedics and sports medicine. There are randomized controlled trials that show the benefit of [platelet-rich plasma] in the extremities, so I imagine similar studies will be upcoming soon in the spine.

At my practice, we utilize regenerative medicine as one of many tools to restore function and eliminate pain for discogenic pain, facetogenic pain, sacroiliac dysfunction and even radicular pain. Our prospective data has also been presented at peer-reviewed meetings as well. While randomized and blinded studies will need to be conducted, the reality is that regenerative medicine has significant potential to improve our patients in a nonsurgical manner. And as our patients continue to be more and more informed about this field, its utilization will continue to grow.