Melatonin. Mitochondria. Mitophagy. Autophagy. Oh my! Back pain links them all in an interesting way.
Melatonin – the sleep regulating hormone – helps sleep which
is vital to the body’s ability to recover
from the day and prepare for the next. Mitophagy stimulates healthy
turnover of mitochondria (the energy producers in cells). Mitophagy prevents
the build-up of abnormal mitochondria in cells that may lead
to cell degeneration. In the case of back pain,
this would avoid such disc
cell deterioration which could precede disc
degeneration. Autophagy is the normal bodily procedure
that controls cell destruction and creation in the
body. When there is cellular stress, autophagy is increased.
(1) Back And Neck Care Center shares findings that melatonin
and light therapy may intervene in this process and help with
Severna Park back pain relief.
MITOCHONDRIA AND DISC DEGENERATION
Back And Neck Care Center understands how disc degeneration includes cellular oxidative stress, mitochondria problems and cell death (aka
apoptosis). This is where researchers suggest
melatonin may play a beneficial role in the reduction
of disc degeneration. Melatonin gets rid of oxygen free radicals,
controls mitochondria function and balance, speeds
up mitrophagy and reduces apoptosis (cell death).
Melatonin may assist in the treatment of disc degeneration. (2)
MELATONIN AND LIGHT FOR DISC DEGENERATION AND Severna Park BACK PAIN
In a biological study of melatonin’s effect on intervertebral
disc degeneration, melatonin sustained nucleus
pulposus cells influenced by oxidative stress. Such stress leads
to impairment of these cells. Melatonin is an important
neuroendocrine hormone with good antioxidant effect that acts
on biological clock regulation. (3) Chronic non-specific low back pain
sufferers who added melatonin to their treatment
plan found it to positively increase the
effect of standard treatments on pain, sleep and depression. The decreased
pain intensity when moving and resting indicated that melatonin
possibly has an analgesic
effect. (4) Melatonin may be another treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration.
LIGHT THERAPY AND BACK PAIN RELIEF
Since melatonin is produced
by light and its lack, light treatment assists patients cope with chronic low back pain, its pain intensity, behavior, and
threshold. It also helps
with post-traumatic stress disorders symptomatology and quality of sleep. All
these were bettered with morning bright light treatment of US
veterans with chronic low back pain. (5) Such treatment could surely
help Severna Park back pain sufferers, too! These researchers think
that this light treatment helps the circadian timing of sleep which
is facilitated by melatonin. (5)
CONTACT Back And Neck Care Center
Listen to the PODCAST
with Dr. Chris DeVeau on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael
Johnson. A patient struggling with neck pain and arm pain found
difficulty with sleep and relief with Cox® Technic.
Schedule a Severna Park chiropractic appointment for
your Severna Park back pain. Patients in Severna Park with disc degeneration may discover
additional relief with melatonin and light therapy alongside chiropractic treatment. Mitochondria, mitophagy, autophagy,
melatonin and back pain are interestingly linked, are they
not?