Inflammation. Disc Degeneration. There is a relationship.
Inflammation is the body’s response to damaging
stimuli (injury, pathogens, metabolic stress – a disc herniation compressing a nerve!) as it tries to restore itself to normal
before the harm was achieved. Chiropractic Care is never
shocked at what the body can do!
Chiropractic Care sees its West Palm Beach chiropractic care as the body’s partner 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 showing value
by interrupting the inflammatory process
related disc herniation that results
in back pain, neck pain and other spine related pain.
DISC DEGENERATION AND INFLAMMATION AND 'AUTOPHAGY'
Inflammatory markers interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6
(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are linked to intervertebral disc degeneration. (1) IL-1 β actually 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 clear out damaged (ie, by inflammation) or unneeded parts. In
a recent study, melatonin enhanced 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 end conclusion was that melatonin inhibits
intervertebral disc degeneration by stimulating autophagy. (3)
Wow. Chiropractic Care is encouraged by this research to see just
how well melatonin can perform for West Palm Beach back pain related
to disc degeneration.
MELATONIN AND ITS HEALING WAYS FOR THE DISC
Disc degeneration is a very common condition
seen at Chiropractic Care that positive news of
melatonin’s benefits are quite exciting. A new
study explained how melatonin could modify
the extracellular matrix of the disc remodeling process started
by IL-1 β. Further, melatonin decreased the
inflammatory cell collection and reduced the release of associated
inflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. With this new discovery
that melatonin disrupted the IL-1B feedback loop, researchers
suggested that melatonin may provide
the healing process of intervertebral discs after damage was
already present. (1) Chiropractic Care will keep
following the new research regarding the role inflammation plays
in West Palm Beach disc degeneration and melatonin’s role in combatting
it.
INFLAMMATION AND MELATONIN
The importance of melatonin in assisting
to slow or stop painful conditions due to inflammation is rising.
The description of melatonin as a multitasking molecule affecting
mood, immunity, and energy among other things is quite appropriate.
It’s also anti-oxidant, anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory, specifically
by blocking 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 secretes melatonin naturally. Melatonin influences
the body’s aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis (cell death), and autophagy
(cell-cleanout) activities. (1) Melatonin’s specific influence on
inflammation and disc degeneration is most attention-getting
to Chiropractic Care and our West Palm Beach back pain patients.
CONTACT Chiropractic Care
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 manages disc
degeneration for relief of chronic low back pain in her patient.
Schedule your West Palm Beach chiropractic appointment with
Chiropractic Care soon. We can discuss how inflammation affects your
back pain and how melatonin may address the related disc
degeneration.