Herniated Disc Treatment in Philadelphia

What Is A Herniated Disc?

A herniated disc occurs when the soft, gel-like material inside a spinal disc pushes through its tough outer layer. This process, referred to as “herniation,” can result in pressure on the nerves that run through the spinal column. While some herniated discs may not cause noticeable symptoms, others can lead to pain, numbness, or weakness in areas of the body connected to the affected nerve. Herniated discs are often the result of underlying medical conditions or wear and tear on the spine, making proper diagnosis and treatment essential for managing symptoms and preventing further complications.

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What Causes A Herniated Disc?

Age-Related Degeneration: Over time, spinal discs lose their flexibility and hydration, making them more prone to cracking or tearing under pressure. This natural wear and tear is often a primary cause in older adults.
Repetitive Movements: Activities that involve repeated bending, lifting, or twisting can strain the spine and increase the risk of disc herniation.
Heavy Lifting: Lifting heavy objects incorrectly—using your back instead of your legs—can put excessive pressure on the discs, leading to herniation.
Injury or Trauma: Accidents, falls, or sudden impacts can damage the spinal discs and cause them to herniate.
Poor Posture: Sitting, standing, or walking with poor alignment can place uneven stress on the spine, increasing the likelihood of disc damage over time.
Obesity: Excess body weight puts additional strain on the spine, making it more vulnerable to herniation.
Sedentary Lifestyle: Lack of regular exercise can weaken the muscles that support the spine, leaving it more susceptible to injury.
Smoking: Smoking reduces blood flow to the spinal discs, impairing their ability to heal and increasing the risk of degeneration and herniation.

How To Diagnose A Herniated Disc?

At Meeting Point Health, Dr. Matta takes a comprehensive approach to diagnosing herniated discs. The process begins with a detailed clinical examination, including a thorough neurological assessment to evaluate muscle strength, reflexes, and nerve function. This helps pinpoint the affected area and assess the severity of the condition.

For confirmation, advanced imaging techniques are utilized. An MRI of the spine is the gold standard for detecting disc herniations, providing a clear view of the disc and surrounding structures to identify the exact location and extent of the herniation. Additionally, X-rays may be used to rule out other potential causes of your symptoms, such as fractures or structural abnormalities in the spine.

Herniated Disc Treatment Options in Philadelphia

These therapies for back pain focus on relieving discomfort and restoring mobility through various surgical alternative treatment options. Early intervention and a customized back pain treatment plan can lead to effective recovery and prevent future issues. Don’t let back pain hold you back! Contact Meeting Point Health today to schedule your personalized consultation and start your journey to relief. Your path to recovery begins here!

Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy therapy is a medical injection procedure whose goal is to relieve pain and promote healing of musculoskeletal conditions, especially involving ligaments, joints, and tendons. Prolotherapy stimulates healing, causes inflammatory responses that increase blood flow and the arrival of immune cells and growth factors to the injection area, and tissue repair.

PRP Therapy

Platelet-rich plasma PRP therapy is a medical treatment that involves the use of a patient’s own blood to promote healing and tissue regeneration. Once injected, the growth factors and other bioactive substances in PRP work to accelerate tissue repair, reduce inflammation, and promote the formation of new blood vessels. This helps in reducing pain, improving function, and enhancing the overall healing process.

Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cell injection therapy refers to a medical procedure in which stem cells are harvested from live, healthy birth tissue and then injected into a localized area on a patient’s body, typically to promote tissue repair, and regeneration, or to treat various medical conditions. Stem cells are unique because they can develop into different types of cells in the body, and they also have the capacity for self-renewal. This makes them valuable in medical treatments, as they can potentially replace or repair damaged or diseased tissues.

Prolozone

Prolozone therapy is a mixture of ozone gas and a prolotherapy solution is injected into the affected area, often around joints, ligaments, or tendons. The theory is that this combination not only irritates and strengthens the tissues (like prolotherapy) but also delivers the potential therapeutic benefits of ozone, such as improved circulation and tissue oxygenation. Prolozone combines procaine, dextrose, B vitamins, saline, oxygen, and ozone into a damaged joint and the combination allows for regrowth of damaged tissue.

Peptide Therapy

Peptide therapy is a cutting-edge, nonsurgical treatment for herniated discs that promotes healing by reducing inflammation, repairing damaged tissues, and supporting nerve health. Peptides like BPC-157 and Thymosin Beta-4 work by decreasing swelling around the herniated disc, stimulating collagen production for tissue repair, and enhancing the regeneration of compressed or damaged nerves. By improving blood flow and cellular healing, peptide therapy creates an optimal environment for recovery. At Meeting Point Health, Dr. Matta integrates peptide therapy into a comprehensive treatment plan to provide effective, long-lasting relief and help patients avoid surgery.

Osteopathic Manipulation

For most people, non-surgical treatment of a herniated disc is the best option. Treatment goals involve decreasing compression and inflammation around the nerve, thereby creating more space for the nerve to function properly. Hands-on treatment using osteopathic manipulation as well as medical acupuncture can help to decrease pain and improve function and improve blood flow to the spine.

FAQs

How does Regenerative Medicine work for a herniated disc?

Can PRP therapy help relieve a herniated disc?

Can a herniated disc heal itself?

Yes, a herniated disc can sometimes heal itself! The body has an amazing ability to repair and adapt, and in some cases, a herniated disc can shrink or the inflammation around it can subside over time, relieving pressure on the affected nerve. This natural healing process can take weeks or even months and often depends on factors like the severity of the herniation, overall health, and how well you manage your symptoms.

That said, it’s not the sort of thing you want to leave entirely to chance. Take proactive steps and consult a specialist (like Dr. Matta at Meeting Point Health) to explore treatments that can speed up healing and get you feeling like yourself again. Who has time to wait when there’s a life to live?

Does Meeting Point Health accept insurance?

No, we do not accept insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid; however, we do take HSA/FSA, cash and credit cards. We also work with CareCredit if you choose to finance.

Our practitioners and staff fully understand and empathize with the challenges that patients face as they make financial decisions for proper health care. Our practice is very different from a conventional medical practice in many ways, and the time spent with each patient is usually 30-90 minutes. Visits with a physician covered by insurance generally allow for less than 10 minutes total! Conventional medical practices that take insurance maintain brief office visits and high patient loads for this reason. We cannot provide the expert care that every one of our patients deserves under those circumstances.

Insurance also dictates the types of treatments and order of treatments patients can receive for a particular condition. For example, if you visit your physician for chronic knee pain, they will likely start with a steroid injection because insurance requires that you exhaust steroid injection efforts before discussing other options, which may possibly impair your overall chances of recovery. Not good!

Opting out of insurance allows the patient and the doctor to maintain their medical autonomy, which is imperative to ensure you get the right treatment at the right time and the right dose.

Can I get an insurance reimbursement?

Good news! If you have out-of-network insurance benefits, you can submit your receipts for potential reimbursement. Depending on your plan, you may receive a percentage of the cost of your visit back either as a reimbursement check in the mail from the insurance company (or an equivalent amount applied to your out-of-network deductible, if applicable). Some plans reimburse up to 80%! All you have to do is ask the front desk for an insurance receipt after your visit.

How do I get started?

Getting started at Meeting Point Health is simple. Schedule an initial discovery call online or call our office to connect with a New Patient Onboarding Specialist. During your first visit, we’ll take a deep dive into your health history, symptoms, and goals, and may recommend advanced testing or imaging to uncover the root causes of your concerns. From there, our team will design a personalized treatment plan tailored to your body’s unique needs—whether that includes regenerative therapies, functional medicine, IV therapy, or longevity care. It all begins with a single step toward feeling your best—Click to schedule a free discovery call with one of our Patient Onboarding Specialists today!

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Disc Herniations Treatment