Meet Your Physician

David Crane, MD: Fellowship-Trained Regenerative Spine Specialist

David Crane, MD

From Emergency Medicine to the Frontier of Spine Regeneration

My path to regenerative spine medicine wasn't linear. I trained in emergency medicine because I wanted to work under pressure, make fast decisions, and help people in acute distress. Those instincts never left me. But as I worked in emergency departments and transitioned into sports medicine, I began noticing the same pattern: patients with acute injuries healed. Bodies have intrinsic repair mechanisms. The question wasn't whether they could heal-it was how to optimize healing.

Over two decades, I shifted from simply managing symptoms to identifying the biological bottlenecks preventing recovery. That curiosity led me to regenerative medicine: PRP, prolotherapy, bone marrow aspiration concentrate, and most recently, exosome therapy. Each represents a different language for speaking to the body's own healing systems. I teach these approaches nationally and internationally because I believe physicians should understand the biology before deploying these tools. The science is rigorous. The results, when done correctly, are consistent.

20+
Years Clinical Experience
2×
Board Certified-Sports & Emergency Medicine
Intl.
Physician Educator
Active
Exosome Research

Training & Board Certifications

I earned my medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. My residency was in Emergency Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix-one of the busiest trauma centers in the country. I then completed dual fellowships in Emergency Medicine and Primary Care Sports Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. I hold board certifications from the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Sports Medicine. I serve as staff physician at Barnes Jewish Hospital and St. John's Mercy Medical Center.

I founded Crane Clinic Sports Medicine in 2005 and Bluetail Medical Group in 2008, with locations across Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana. In my clinical roles, I remain deeply involved in patient care-not as an administrator, but as a practicing physician who evaluates, treats, and follows patients over time.

Teaching Regenerative Therapeutics Nationally and Internationally

As I explain to physicians in my courses, understanding the cellular biology is non-negotiable. Any practitioner can inject platelet-rich plasma. Not every practitioner understands what those platelets actually do-how they activate growth factor cascades, recruit stem cells, modulate inflammatory cytokines. I teach regenerative medicine principles to physicians and advanced practitioners across the country and internationally. I believe in making the science accessible without oversimplifying it.

That same commitment to precision informs how I treat patients. Every injection is guided by ultrasound. Every treatment plan is tailored to the specific pathology. There are no cookbook protocols in my practice. When I teach, I'm not selling a treatment-I'm explaining the biology. And when I treat a patient, I'm applying that same intellectual rigor.

Active in Exosome Research and Regenerative Medicine Innovation

Exosomes represent the frontier of regenerative medicine. These extracellular vesicles carry bioactive molecules-proteins, lipids, nucleic acids-that modulate inflammation and promote tissue repair at the cellular level. I remain actively involved in exosome research and clinical outcomes tracking. We're not making claims beyond what the science supports; we're documenting what the research shows. Exosome therapy is not a treatment I offer lightly or without ongoing education. It's a tool I deploy when the biological rationale aligns with the patient's condition and when we can track outcomes rigorously.

My commitment to research isn't separate from patient care-it's central to it. Every patient treated at our practice contributes to our outcomes database. We measure pain scores, functional disability, return-to-activity, and satisfaction. This data informs individual treatment decisions and shapes how we refine our protocols. We're not interested in claiming certainty where uncertainty exists.

Philosophy: Treat the Source, Not the Symptom

Too many spine patients receive band-aid solutions. Epidural steroid injections numb pain without addressing why the nerve is inflamed. Muscle relaxers mask symptoms while atrophy worsens. Surgery-sometimes necessary-removes tissue without restoring the biological capacity of what remains. I treat the source.

If your disc is dehydrating because load is being transferred to incompetent facet joints, we stabilize the facet joint and restore disc mechanics. If your ligament has lost proprioceptive innervation and elastic recoil, we stimulate fibrocyte proliferation. If your joint is inflaming from synovitis, we address the synovial inflammation. This takes more time than a quick injection, and it requires a physician who's willing to spend time understanding your specific anatomy. It's how I practice.

Life Outside the Clinic

I'm an orienteer and adventure racer. I've always been drawn to sports that demand physical and mental precision under uncertainty. Those instincts shaped my clinical practice too. Orienteering taught me to navigate complexity, to make decisions with incomplete information, and to trust my ability to adapt. That's exactly what spine medicine requires-the ability to understand anatomy under uncertainty and make clinical decisions that respect both science and the individual patient in front of you.

I'm married with two daughters and one son. My family keeps me grounded and reminds me that medicine is, ultimately, about helping real people maintain the life they want to live. It's not about diagnoses or imaging findings. It's about whether my patient can play with their children, get back to their sport, work without pain, or simply move through the day without limitation. That's what drives my practice.

Ready to Discuss Your Spine Condition?

Schedule a consultation to understand your specific condition and whether regenerative medicine is the right approach for you.

Schedule Consultation Call 636-778-2900