Stem Cell Therapy for Treatment of Lower Back Pain Due to Degenerative Disk Disease: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: To review current literature concerning the effectiveness of stem cell therapy for individuals that suffer from lower back pain (LBP) due to degenerative disc disease (DDD). Methods: The literature for this systematic review was gathered through PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. All articles were assessed for the effectiveness of stem cell therapy for individuals with LBP due to DDD. Results: Most participants in the five studies using stem cell therapy on humans saw favorable results that included improvements in pain, quality of life, range of motion, and decrease in disc provocation. The other two studies involving rabbits showed favorable results for the success that stem cells had in cell fusion as well as improvement in degenerated intervertebral discs (IVD). Conclusions: The use of stem cell therapy showed improvement in patients that suffer from LBP due to DDD. MeSH keywords: stem cell therapy; degenerative disc disease; lower back pain.