Melatonin. Mitochondria. Mitophagy. Autophagy. Oh my! Back pain links them all in an interesting way.
Melatonin – a hormone secreted by the brain at
night to regulate circadian rhythm – helps sleep which
is essential to the body’s ability to recuperate
from the day and get ready for the next. Mitophagy promotes healthy
turnover of mitochondria (the energy producers in cells). Mitophagy prevents
the build-up of dysfunctional mitochondria in cells that may lead
to cell degeneration. In the case of back pain,
this would prevent such disc
cell deterioration which may precede disc
degeneration. Autophagy is a normal process
that deals with cell destruction and creation in the
body. When there is cellular stress, autophagy is augmented.
(1) Soft Health and Healing Clinic presents findings that melatonin
and light therapy may intercede in this process and help with
Brooks back pain relief.
MITOCHONDRIA AND DISC DEGENERATION
Soft Health and Healing Clinic knows 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 help treat disc degeneration. (2)
MELATONIN AND LIGHT FOR DISC DEGENERATION AND Brooks BACK PAIN
In a biological study of melatonin’s effect on intervertebral
disc degeneration, melatonin sustained nucleus
pulposus cells affected by oxidative stress. Such stress leads
to impairment of these cells. Melatonin is an significant
neuroendocrine hormone with good antioxidant effect that works
on biological clock regulation. (3) Chronic non-specific low back pain
sufferers who included melatonin in their treatment
plan found it to positively increase the
effect of standard treatments on pain, sleep and depression. The reduced
pain intensity when moving and resting signified that melatonin
possibly offers pain relieving
effect. (4) Melatonin may be another method to
treat intervertebral disc degeneration.
LIGHT THERAPY AND BACK PAIN RELIEF
In so much as melatonin is triggered
by light and its lack, light treatment helps patients handle chronic low back pain, its pain intensity, behavior, and
threshold. It also assists
with post-traumatic stress disorders symptomatology and quality of sleep. All
these were improved with morning bright light treatment of US
veterans with chronic low back pain. (5) Such treatment could surely
help Brooks back pain sufferers, too! These researchers believe
that this light treatment regulates the circadian timing of sleep which
is mediated by melatonin. (5)
CONTACT Soft Health and Healing Clinic
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 Brooks chiropractic appointment for
your Brooks back pain. Patients in Brooks with disc degeneration may discover
extra relief with melatonin and light therapy alongside chiropractic treatment. Mitochondria, mitophagy, autophagy,
melatonin and back pain are interestingly linked, are they
not?