Rebecca Tirs spends most days curled up in bed with her pal Jenny-Bee. But this isn't how life has always been for these two. 10 years ago, Rebecca was an active 28-year-old until she was in a roll-over car accident.

"I had a mild traumatic brain injury. I had a fractured pelvis. I had fractured scapula, fractured ribs," said Tirs.

She also tore two discs in her low back.

"It was just constant, deep down to the bone, severe pain."

Rebecca can barely walk. She had to quit work and give up all her favorite activities. Doctor Michael Depalma is working on a new way to heal injured backs. As part of a clinical trial, he injects growth factors, found naturally in the body, into damaged discs.

"The growth factors are that, they stimulate growth of certain tissue," said Michael DePalma, M.D. VCU Spine Center.

The injection includes a growth factor called OP1, a key ingredient in the development of bone and tissue. In animals, the shot helped damaged discs grow back. Doctors say in humans, it could mean no surgery, no damage to surrounding tissue and little downtime.

"This sort of treatment may find its role in treating the disc before they get to a point beyond which only surgery is going to help," said Michael DePalma, M.D.

Rebecca doesn't know if she received a placebo or the real injection, but she noticed a slight improvement in her pain level.

"Instead of maybe an eight or a nine, I was a seven."

She says every bit helps if it gets her one step closer to her old, vibrant self.

For more information: Ivanhoe Broadcast News2745 W. Fairbanks Ave.Winter Park, FL 32789http://www.ivanhoe.comMelissa Medalie, Supervising Producer Medical Newsmmedalie@ivanhoe.comDirect Line: (407) 691-1516Viewer Line: (407) 740-0789 ext. 579