Alpine Spine & Orthopedics

Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Alpine Spine & Orthopedics, Medical and health, 920 E 800 N Suite 202, Orem, UT.

Innovative advancements in interventional orthopedics, complex spine, brain, nerve, pain, & sports medicine with a focus on novel regenerative minimally-invasive 3D image-guided interventions and tissue engineering techniques. Interventional Orthopedics, Nerve, Pain, & Complex Spine Disorders: Focusing on Novel Regenerative Approaches using Minimally-Invasive 3D Image-Guided Interventions.

Incredible to see another successful athlete fully return to sports with no pain and good repair after our stem cell mat...
02/22/2026

Incredible to see another successful athlete fully return to sports with no pain and good repair after our stem cell matrix patching procedures on her pars fractures! This was a uniquely interesting and complex case due to multiple prior failed back surgeries with loosening pars screws and additional fractures below the failed hardware. A local ABC News channel did this story on her spectacular return and recovery despite being told more surgery was her only option. This would not have been possible without our precision 3D image-guidance to patch around the screws and in the fractures with novel stem cell scaffolding matrix advancements, and we are grateful for the privilege to help her healing and recovery to return to the sports she loves! 🙏
She and her parents discuss more details of her journey through her injuries and recovery in the news article here: https://www.inforum.com/sports/prep/horace-senior-back-on-the-court-for-one-last-run





Interesting case of a 41yr senior software engineer who came to us for focal right-sided back pain, but his MRI only men...
02/21/2026

Interesting case of a 41yr senior software engineer who came to us for focal right-sided back pain, but his MRI only mentioned disc bulges that didn't match his pain. We found stress reactions in the pedicle and confirmed complete unilateral pars fracture on the right, as well as a variant of Bertolotti's with LSTV (blue arrows), and significant right L3-4 facet arthritis which we found was due to an L4 SAP fracture (purple arrows). The patient was shocked how these complex issues could be entirely missed and misunderstood at the big "academic" hospital systems yet so quickly elucidated at our clinic. Our novel stem cell scaffolding matrix patching procedure on the pars fracture and facet has now healed incredibly well with clear connective tissue bridging and medullary callus ossification in the pars (green arrow), which required using a trocar to puncture small holes through the fracture margins, and even though the new bone is not as dense, it will continue to solidify over time. We also patched the facet joint, and told him the fragment would likely not re-unionize because it was small and already had some reabsorption, but we could help the more important aspect of restoring capsular integrity and cartilage of the facet joint to be able to properly move and bear weight. As predicted, the small facet fragment has not fused, but his pain and activity have improved dramatically ("night to day difference") and he was extremely grateful he found us. Nevertheless, there is not any surgery on earth that can fix everything in every case or that fully resolves everyone's pain (data show that nearly half of spinal hardware fusions eventually results in worse back pain, failed back surgery syndrome, inevitable adjacent segment disease, etc), so naturally not all of these regenerative approaches with stem cell scaffolding matrix will result in complete repair. But we give every effort we can to repair these complex injuries with our 3D-guided minimally-invasive tissue engineering procedures, which have enabled numerous patients to heal, repair, return to function, and avoid surgical hardware from a wide variety of injuries.

ASOI © 2026


Thanks Ben, grateful to be a part of your recovery! 🙏
02/20/2026

Thanks Ben, grateful to be a part of your recovery! 🙏

02/17/2026

Another case of clavicle fracture from a traumatic fall which also resulted in craniocervical ligament injuries that were missed, similar to the prior case we posted. This patient took a hard hit in D1 Lacrosse that resulted in a clavicle fracture that was left to heal on its own. Persistent neck pain, headaches, chest pain, and shoulder pain led her to seek further treatment, but doctors repeatedly dismissed her telling her that nothing else was wrong and her pain was all in her head. We recommended further imaging including an upper cervical MRI which revealed significant ligament and joint injuries that correlated with her symptoms. We also discovered that not only had she fractured her clavicle but also had a significant manubriosternal joint subluxation and large AC joint shoulder separation. We also found that she had congenital posterior arch dysplasia (type A unfused hemiarches resulting in a posterior median cleft, making her more susceptible to injury). We perfectly targeted all these injuries with 3D image-guided stem cell patching with sticky protein/peptide matrix scaffolding, which involved our unique "double quad" approach (both anteriorly and posteriorly) to target the damaged ligaments and joints.

Copyright © 2026
Richard J. McMurtrey MD, MSc
Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute
All Rights Reserved





Fascinating case this week showing the long-term effects of upper cervical ligament injury. A healthy elderly woman pres...
02/14/2026

Fascinating case this week showing the long-term effects of upper cervical ligament injury. A healthy elderly woman presented with severe neck pain, and for as long as she can remember it hurt most on the left upper side near the base of the skull, with pain-limited rotation of the head. Her adult daughter said that growing up she always had hot and cold packs on her left upper neck. Her MRI showed multilevel disc disease worst at C5-6-7, and traditional neurosurgeons would have done a multi-level fusion surgery here. However, she insisted her worst pain was directly at the base of the skull on the left side, but the radiology reports made no mention of any problem there. Our advanced 3D imaging confirmed severe C1-2 Atlanto-Axial arthritis only on the left side (notice how the right C1-2 has almost no arthritis at all!), which is a consequence of right alar ligament injury that allowed the unstable left C1-2 joint to shift and grind down over time, similar to how a pothole develops the road, ultimately causing stage IV arthritis with subchondral cyst formation. She had several falls in her life but could not remember any specific serious trauma (she felt this likely occurred in her youth and she just toughed it out her whole life). The chances of successful treatment are always much higher if caught and treated early, and sometimes a high pain tolerance causes longer unnecessary suffering with catastrophic long-term consequences. Nevertheless she did great with the stem cell patching procedures, which fill in the cartilage defects with a regenerative hydrogel patch consisting of stem cells with scaffolding matrix (like repaving a pothole in the road) and she is already feeling more cushioning, stability, and more relaxed neck muscles, and she was grateful we finally figured out the source of her problem after all these years and didn't jump into an unnecessary fusion that wouldn't have even helped her pain! 

Copyright © 2026
Richard J. McMurtrey MD, MSc
Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute
All Rights Reserved





Over a decade ago Dr. McMurtrey was bolting bones of the spine and skull back together, but was frustrated that we still...
02/12/2026

Over a decade ago Dr. McMurtrey was bolting bones of the spine and skull back together, but was frustrated that we still do nothing to repair brain and spinal cord tissue injuries. He had the idea of rebuilding 3D neural tissue using patterned nanofibers in biocompatible hydrogels that 1) replicated neural network pathways, 2) were functionalized with axonal guidance molecules, 3) embedded nanofibers within functionalized hydrogel scaffolding to enable neural proliferation and 3D spatial neurite guidance, 4) used certain types of peptides and proteins to control neural tissue environment to prevent astrogliosis and scar proliferation, and 5) be biocompatible at the neural interface for cellular integration with matching elastic modulus. He wrote up a research proposal but the NIH rejected these ideas as "unlikely to work," so he instead applied to Oxford University to see if he could pursue this novel research there, and they gave him a lab but said the rest would have to be self-funded since he was not an EU or UK citizen. While there he not only successfully achieved his ideas but also was able to reprogram patient's own cells to create neural organoids and stem cells to rebuild in vitro neural tissue with nanofibers, hydrogels, and peptide signaling factors.

Today over a decade later, similar research has just been published on how to protect and repair injured spinal cord organoids using combinations of peptides, hydrogels, and nanofibers to fill the lesion gap and guide beneficial repair. There are still some weaknesses to their approach in a living human, but the concept remains the same as what Dr. McMurtrey envisioned and published over a decade ago for how to best approach these injuries. Dr. McMurtrey was the only resident at his program who could work two back-to-back call shifts (65 hours without sleep) then work in the lab on his "time off." Beautiful to see all this work starting to come full circle-- see if you can tell which images were just published today vs Dr. McMurtrey's from 2016!

Takata et al. "Injury and therapy in a human spinal cord organoid" Nature Biomedical Engineering 2026



Yet again we have seen numerous athletes where spine fractures nearly ended their careers, yet who then had enough heali...
12/31/2025

Yet again we have seen numerous athletes where spine fractures nearly ended their careers, yet who then had enough healing and repair from our minimally-invasive regenerative procedures to fully return to sports. It is never a guarantee of course, but far better to try these less invasive approaches before jumping to much higher-risk spinal hardware surgeries with irreversible long-term consequences and high complication rates. These outcomes are worth all the late nights and long years of research to push the future of tissue engineering into more successful reparative approaches. This patient wrote the following review (case & photo posted with permission) which means the world to us:

"I am a 19 year old female high jumper who jumps in the ACC at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the Fall of 2024, I found out I had a bilateral pars fracture of my L5 vertebrae. I also had a few annular tears to the surrounding disks. Upon further examination, my case became more complex involving the early destabilization of my SI joints and fluid in my facets. Our main concern was healing my pars fracture, which would be very hard to do with just rest and no intervention considering that my bones were calcified apart instead of healed together. Surgery was an option, but would limit my mobility, so we researched alternative solutions that would aid in healing. We came across Dr. McMurtrey at Alpine Spine & Orthopedics and his stem cell procedures and immediately started researching. The results for young adult athletes, like me, were spectacular…. I have gradually worked up to full activity without any back pain whatsoever. I modify my lifts so I am not back squatting, dead lifting, or power cleaning, but besides that I have full mobility and strength and no pain. I am so grateful to say that I just competed in my first collegiate track meet a few weeks ago jumping an indoor season personal record and with no pain. Without Dr. McMurtrey my pars would have not had what it needed to grow back together and to provide stability. I am forever thankful for Dr. McMurtrey and for the good Lord for getting me back to my sport!"


3D-Guided Upper Cervical Spine Regenerative 3D Stem Cell Patching: AtlantoAxial AtlantoOccipital CranioCervical C0-1 & C...
12/29/2025

3D-Guided Upper Cervical Spine Regenerative 3D Stem Cell Patching: AtlantoAxial AtlantoOccipital CranioCervical C0-1 & C1-2 Minimally-Invasive Interventions.

Trans-oral and trans-nasal approaches to the cervical spine have been done for well over 100 years, including to the pituitary by Harvey Cushing in the 1900s then craniovertebral pathologies as early as 1917 for atlantoaxial subluxation as well as resection of tumors, tuberculosis, and even a bullet! Then in the 1980s Dr. Arnold H. Menezes significantly advanced these approaches and techniques to dramatically improve both safety and efficacy to make this approach the mainstay for these unique pathologies.

Dr Richard J. McMurtrey was able to operate with several of these legends and innovators in neurosurgery, including Dr. Arnold H. Menezes himself on atlantoaxial instabilities and craniocervical subluxations, as well as Dr. John A. Jane and Dr. Edward H. Oldfield on numerous trans-oral and trans-nasal cases as well as complex pediatric brain and spine pathologies, in addition to many traumas at Denver General county hospital, and he uses this experience along with ultra-high-resolution 3D image-guidance to target these injuries and pathologies with the most exact minimally-invasive techniques.

Shown are just a few of the cases Dr. McMurtrey has performed to the anterior upper cervical spine. These injuries are also comorbid with numerous other pathologies. Our prior posts showed some of the complex anatomy with upper cervical procedures around brainstem, spinal cord, and critical arteries, and Dr McMurtrey uses his expertise in tissue engineering and stem cell research at the University of Oxford to create bespoke 3D stem cell patches with scaffolding matrix to help adhere and integrate the cells directly into tissue defects and injuries like C0-1, C1-2, & alar and transverse ligaments specific to each patient’s injuries. More detailed videos coming soon.

www.AlpineSpineOrthopedics.com

Copyright © 2025 ASOI
Richard J McMurtrey MD MSc
All Rights Reserved





3D-Guided Upper Cervical Spine Regenerative Stem Cell Patching Interventions: AtlantoAxial AtlantoOccipital Craniocervic...
12/29/2025

3D-Guided Upper Cervical Spine Regenerative Stem Cell Patching Interventions: AtlantoAxial AtlantoOccipital Craniocervical C0-1 & C1-2 Minimally-Invasive Reparative Interventions.

Overview of the Atlanto-Axial & Atlanto-Occipital C0-1 & C1-2 Joints of the Upper Cervical Spine: These joints of the spine are synovial joints with cartilage and surrounding capsule and ligaments, hence they can have many problems similar to other joints in the body, including erosive arthritis, traumatic instability, arthropathy, arthrosis, hypertrophy, chondromalacia, degeneration, collapse, autoimmune damage, cysts, and cartilage damage.

We are one of the only places on earth implementing novel 3D stem cell patches with biologic scaffolding matrix and signaling factors to help adhere and integrate the cells directly into tissue defects and injuries.

We are also one of the only places on earth that can target and treat highly complex injuries throughout the body with minimally-invasive high-resolution 3D-guided technologies. Dr. McMurtrey combines his training in neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, trauma surgery, critical care, and minimally-invasive interventions with his expertise in tissue engineering and stem cell research at the University of Oxford to advance the field of regenerative medicine and provide customized treatment plans specific to patient's injuries and conditions. 

New video coming soon on YouTube

www.AlpineSpineOrthopedics.com

The Leader in Regenerative Interventional Orthopedics, Spine, Nerve, Pain, & Sports Medicine with Minimally-Invasive Surgery Alternatives & Image-Guided Interventions for Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, & Sacral Spine!

Copyright © 2025 
Richard J. McMurtrey MD, MSc 
Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute 
All Rights Reserved 





The Future of 3D Stem Cell Tissue Engineering Repair Interventions:We are designing numerous types of stem cell hydrogel...
12/29/2025

The Future of 3D Stem Cell Tissue Engineering Repair Interventions:

We are designing numerous types of stem cell hydrogels and scaffolding matrix patches embued with signaling factors and composite biomaterials for directly repairing a wide variety of tissue injuries and conditions. This already has shown incredible applications in joint, cartilage, ligament, tendon, bone, muscle, nerve, disc, and spine injuries. 

Dr Richard J McMurtrey MD MSc is the master of biomaterial scaffolds and cellular tissue engineering. Over the last decade he has published ground-breaking work creating the first 3D neural tissues from patients' own cells by reprogramming them into stem cells and culturing on 3D nano-patterned biocompatible scaffolds where new neurons formed new synaptic connections by following unique signaling cues. At that time Yamanaka had not even won the Nobel prize yet for his stem cell work, so this was cutting edge back then and still today, and this has further expanded into numerous orthopedic applications. The hope is to soon apply further discoveries to promote even better healing and repair in many more types of tissue injuries and further advance these applications in brain, spinal cord, nerve, joint, ligament, cartilage, bone, disc, and spine injuries. 

Using patient's own mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), Dr McMurtrey creates natural biomaterial scaffolds to help these stem cells bind, integrate, and rebuild specific tissue injuries. There are even more types of natural and synthetic biocompatible scaffoldings in research phase, and Dr. McMurtrey continues leading research work with 3D stem cell patches that are placed with minimally-invasive 3D image-guided techniques. 

www.AlpineSpineOrthopedics.com

Copyright © 2025 Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute. All Rights Reserved.




  

It has been one year since implementing the newest and most innovative mobile robotic intraoperative 3D imaging system f...
12/29/2025

It has been one year since implementing the newest and most innovative mobile robotic intraoperative 3D imaging system for minimally-invasive spine and orthopedic procedures. This 3D imaging has provided next-level visualization of injuries and anatomic defects along with incredible procedural accuracy for directly targeting and repairing injuries. We are leading the way at the forefront of the future of medicine, and this technology combined with our regenerative stem cell patching with scaffolding matrix patching takes things to the next level. Even after a year, we are still finding fascinating new advantages and results from these technologies, and despite hospitals and academic centers having far more money, funding, and resources (and being able to share costs among multiple doctors), we are still the only institution with this advanced 3D imaging technology doing these newer types of reparative complex spine and orthopedic procedures, and more innovation is still on the way!

Copyright © 2025 Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute. All Rights Reserved.





12/29/2025

Regenerative Stem Cell Patching Interventions for Knee Joint Arthritis Cartilage & Meniscus Injury Repair-- Optimizing Best Stem Cell Therapy Outcomes with Hydrogel Scaffolding Matrix with Minimally-Invasive Image-Guided Procedures.

Dr. McMurtrey has many years of surgical experience and stem cell research experience using customized Stem Cells + Hydrogel Scaffolding Matrix Designs for many clinical applications with many published scientific works in stem cells, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine research. We have numerous documented cases of cartilage and meniscus repair using these new strategies (some of which you can see the imaging yourself in our prior posts).

Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute
https://www.AlpineSpineOrthopedics.com

Leading the Way in Regenerative Medicine & Interventional Orthopedics, Spine, Nerve, Pain, & Sports Medicine with Minimally-Invasive Surgery Alternatives & Image-Guided Interventions:
Arthritis & Joint Treatments
Cartilage, Ligament, Tendon, Meniscus, & Muscle Tissue Repair
Neck & Back Pain - Spinal Interventions
Nerve & Neuropathy Therapies
PRF & PRP Treatments
Peptide Therapies
Stem Cell Therapies

Copyright © 2025 Alpine Spine & Orthopedics Institute
All Rights Reserved


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920 E 800 N Suite 202
Orem, UT
84097

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+18015003001

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