Hydrogel provides back up for NHS

摘要

Chronic lower back pain could eventually be treated with hydro-gel injections that restore the shock-absorbing properties of damaged intervertebral discs. Researchers at Sheffield Hal-lam University have developed a hydrogel delivery system that contains stem cells and chemical factors that may combat degeneration and promote growth of intervertebral discs. Lower back pain affects approximately 80 per cent of the population at some point in their lives, incurring huge costs to the NHS and the wider economy.