Column Treatment Progress No. 21 | A Patient Whose Pain and Numbness Resolved One Month After Treatment at Our Clinic
April 17. 2023
The patient
A male patient in his 50s
Treated in November 2022. Approximately 5 months have passed since treatment.
Symptoms and treatments to date
This patient had disc herniation in the areas indicated by the red frame (L5/s).
Additionally, disc degeneration was observed in the L1/2 and L2/3 discs. A transitional vertebra (a congenital spinal anomaly) was also noted.
Pre-treatment medical history and treatments to date
The patient first developed a lumbar disc herniation approximately 40 years ago.
He constantly felt a dull pain extending from his lower back and buttocks down to his right leg.
Although he had undergone stretching and muscle-strengthening exercises under the guidance of a physical therapist, these measures had not led to complete symptom resolution.
Treatment
The Cellgel Method was performed at three intervertebral disc levels: L1/2, L2/3, and L5/S1.
Post-treatment progress
The table below shows the results of the patient’s own evaluation of the pain in each body site on a scale of 0 to 10.
No pain at all is rated as 0 and 10 as the maximum possible pain.
| Lower back | Lower limbs | Numbness | Buttocks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before treatment | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 1 week after treatment | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 month after treatment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 months after treatment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The following is feedback from the patient when contacted for follow-up.
After 1 week: Mild pain remained in the lower limb, but almost all other pain had resolved.
After 1 month: Both pain and numbness had completely disappeared.
After 3 months: Symptoms remained absent, unchanged from the one-month follow-up.
For this patient, the treatment effects appeared relatively quickly.
This is thought to be due to early reparative effects in the intervertebral disc responsible for the primary symptom—namely, the disc herniation.
Although uncommon, some patients experience noticeable improvement within approximately one month.
* Results vary among individuals. Please be aware that identical outcomes cannot be guaranteed.
* It generally takes 3 weeks to 3 months for treatment effects to appear.
Our Treatment Method
Supplementary Information on the Cellgel Method
Cost of the Cellgel Method:
¥1,320,000 / 1 site (tax included)
to ¥1,760,000 / 5 sites (tax included)
Risks and Side Effects:
Temporary pain may occur after treatment.
Nerve injury is theoretically possible due to the nature of the procedure, but no such cases have been reported in our own experience or in published studies.
Extremely rare risk of allergic reaction to local anesthetic.
Symptoms may temporarily worsen for 1–2 weeks after treatment, believed to be due to decompression effects of the implant pulling on surrounding tissue.
If the disc is severely collapsed or nearly gone, treatment may not be possible.
The physician will discuss suitable treatment options with each patient depending on their condition.
For more detailed information, please refer to the following links:
Blog page explaining the Cellgel Method in an easy-to-understand manner
The Cellgel Method on our treatment methods page
This article was written by the administrative Director of our clinic
