Spinal pain and associated disability is a leading cause of morbidity worldwide that has a strong association with degenerative disc disease (DDD). DDD can begin in early-late adolescence and has a variable course. Biologically based therapies to treat DDD face significant challenges posed by the unique milieu of the environment within the intervertebral discs. Many potential promising therapies are still in the early stages of development with a hostile microenvironment within the disc presenting unique challenges. The translational potential of this article: Patient selection, reasonable therapeutic goals, approach, and timing will need to be discerned in order to successfully translate potential therapeutics.
Keywords: back pain; disc injections; intervertebral disc disease; stem cell treatment.