Melatonin. Mitochondria. Mitophagy. Autophagy. Oh my! Back pain links them all interestingly.
Melatonin – the sleep regulating hormone – manages sleep which
is vital to the body’s ability to recuperate
from the day and prepare for the next. Mitophagy stimulates healthy
turnover of mitochondria (the energy producers in cells). Mitophagy blocks
the build-up of abnormal mitochondria in cells that may lead
to cell deterioration. In the case of back pain,
this would prevent such disc
cell deterioration which may precede disc
degeneration. Autophagy is the normal bodily procedure
that manages cell destruction and creation in the
body. When there is cellular stress, autophagy is increased.
(1) Chiropractic Care presents findings that melatonin
and light therapy may intervene in this process and promote
West Palm Beach back pain relief.
MITOCHONDRIA AND DISC DEGENERATION
Chiropractic Care understands how disc degeneration includes cellular oxidative stress, mitochondria issues and cell death (aka
apoptosis). This is where researchers imply
melatonin may perform a positive role in the slowing
of disc degeneration. Melatonin gets rid of oxygen free radicals,
controls mitochondria function and balance, speeds
up mitrophagy and slows apoptosis (cell death).
Melatonin may assist in the treatment of disc degeneration. (2)
MELATONIN AND LIGHT FOR DISC DEGENERATION AND West Palm Beach BACK PAIN
In a biological study of melatonin’s effect on intervertebral
disc degeneration, melatonin preserved nucleus
pulposus cells influenced by oxidative stress. Such stress leads
to harm of these cells. Melatonin is an essential
neuroendocrine hormone with good antioxidant effect that works
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
potentially offers pain relieving
effect. (4) Melatonin may be another treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration.
LIGHT THERAPY AND BACK PAIN RELIEF
In so much as melatonin is triggered
by light and its lack, light treatment assists 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 bettered with morning bright light treatment of US
veterans with chronic low back pain. (5) Such treatment could certainly
help West Palm Beach back pain sufferers, too! These researchers believe
that this light treatment regulates the circadian timing of sleep which
is mediated by melatonin. (5)
CONTACT Chiropractic Care
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 West Palm Beach chiropractic appointment for
your West Palm Beach back pain. Patients in West Palm Beach with disc degeneration may discover
additional relief with melatonin and light therapy alongside chiropractic treatment. Mitochondria, mitophagy, autophagy,
melatonin and back pain are interestingly connected, are they
not?