Inflammation. Disc Degeneration. There is a relationship.
Inflammation is the body’s response to harmful
stimuli (injury, pathogens, metabolic stress – a disc herniation compressing a nerve!) as it tries to repair itself
before the harm was done. Back And Neck Care Center is never
shocked at what the body can do!
Back And Neck Care Center sees its Severna Park chiropractic care as a partner of
the body’s system in healing especially
when spine pain is an issue. Chiropractic care uses
many tools like spinal manipulation, exercise, and nutrition to help
the body. Melatonin is one nutritional tool that is proving value
by interrupting the inflammatory process
related disc herniation that brings about pain relief: back, neck, spine-related.
DISC DEGENERATION AND INFLAMMATION AND 'AUTOPHAGY'
Inflammatory markers interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6
(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are associated with intervertebral disc degeneration. (1) IL-1 β in fact promotes
itself, its own expression, by upregulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation. (2)
The body regulates itself down to its cellular level
via autophagy, the natural process via which the body’s
cells clean out damaged (ie, by inflammation) or unneeded parts. In
a new study, melatonin boosted autophagy
and decreased the degradation of the disc’s
extracellular matrix (technically marked by a decrease
in marker LC3B, autophagasomes and autolysosomes and inhibition of the NF-kB
signaling pathway). The final conclusion was that melatonin inhibits
intervertebral disc degeneration by stimulating autophagy. (3)
Wow. Back And Neck Care Center is encouraged by this research to see just
how well melatonin can perform for Severna Park back pain related
to disc degeneration.
MELATONIN AND ITS HEALING WAYS FOR THE DISC
Disc degeneration is such a common malady
seen at Back And Neck Care Center making positive news like this quite rousing. A recent
study stated that melatonin could modulate
the extracellular matrix of the disc remodeling process started
by IL-1 β. Further, melatonin decreased the
inflammatory cell collection and decreased the release of connected
inflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. With this new discovery
that melatonin interrupted the IL-1B feedback loop, researchers
postulated that melatonin may support
the healing process of intervertebral discs after damage has already been done. (1) Back And Neck Care Center will keep
following the new research regarding the role inflammation has
in Severna Park disc degeneration and melatonin’s role in combatting
it.
INFLAMMATION AND MELATONIN
The importance of melatonin in helping
to slow or stop painful conditions due to inflammation is rising.
The description of melatonin as a multitasking molecule influencing
mood, immunity, and energy among other things is quite appropriate.
It is also anti-oxidant, anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory, specifically
by hindering the activation of inflammasomes (4) Melatonin’s
formal chemical name is as about as long as its list of tasks: N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine.
The pineal gland produces melatonin naturally. Melatonin influences
the body’s aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis (cell death), and autophagy
(cell-cleanout) processes. (1) Melatonin’s specific influence on
inflammation and disc degeneration is most attention-getting
to Back And Neck Care Center and our Severna Park back pain patients.
CONTACT Back And Neck Care Center
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Hrefna Sylvia based in Iceland where back pain isn’t much different
from any other country on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as she describes how The Cox® Technic
System of Spinal Pain Management handles disc
degeneration for relief of chronic low back pain in her patient.
Schedule your Severna Park chiropractic appointment with
Back And Neck Care Center now. We can talk about how inflammation affects your
back pain and how melatonin may address the related disc
degeneration.