Spinal surgery has become alarmingly prevalent in the United States, with significant evidence suggesting many procedures are unnecessary. U.S. hospitals performed more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries on Medicare beneficiaries between 2020 and 2022, with one low-value back procedure occurring every eight minutes and costing Medicare more than $1.9 billion over three years. The number of spinal fusion procedures has grown from nearly 61,000 in 1993 to 465,000 in 2011, a tenfold increase that far exceeds population growth or demonstrated medical need. There is large variation in rates of overuse among individual hospitals, ranging from zero to more than half of procedures, suggesting financial incentives rather than clinical necessity drive many surgeries.
The consequences are significant. Patients face infection risks, hardware complications, and the potential for post-surgical syndrome, where pain persists or worsens after surgery. Additionally, spinal fusion procedures can accelerate degeneration in adjacent vertebrae, potentially requiring future surgeries. Insurance costs and patient suffering mount as unnecessary interventions proliferate.
Stem cell therapy offers a promising alternative that could dramatically reduce surgical demand. These treatments harness the regenerative capacity of stem cells to repair damaged intervertebral discs, reduce inflammation, and restore tissue integrity. By addressing underlying pathology rather than merely fusing joints, stem cell therapy may halt degenerative progression and provide lasting pain relief.
Clinical data, as well as Dr. Richard Kim’s 10 years of experience in regenerative medicine, have demonstrated patients experiencing improved function and reduced pain without the complications associated with surgery. Unlike fusion procedures, stem cell approaches preserve spinal mobility and don’t accelerate adjacent-level degeneration.
Regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies can fundamentally transform spine care. By providing effective, minimally invasive alternatives, these treatments can dramatically reduce unnecessary surgeries while improving patient outcomes. The future of spinal medicine may ultimately depend less on the surgeon’s scalpel and more on the body’s own remarkable capacity to heal itself.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10491010
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10491010
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/spinal-surgeries-fusions-long-term-pain.html