Melatonin. Mitochondria. Mitophagy. Autophagy. Oh my! Back pain connects them all in an interesting way.
Melatonin – the sleep regulating hormone – promotes sleep which
is essential to the body’s capability to recover
from the day and get ready for the next. Mitophagy stimulates healthy
turnover of mitochondria (the energy producers in cells). Mitophagy blocks
the build-up of dysfunctional mitochondria in cells that may precede cell degeneration. In the case of back pain,
this would avoid such disc
cell deterioration which could lead to disc
degeneration. Autophagy is a normal practice
that deals with cell destruction and creation in the
body. When there is cellular stress, autophagy is augmented.
(1) Wilson Family Chiropractic shares research that melatonin
and light therapy may intercede in this process and promote
Millville back pain relief.
MITOCHONDRIA AND DISC DEGENERATION
Wilson Family Chiropractic knows how disc degeneration involves oxidative
stress on the cell, mitochondria issues and cell death (aka
apoptosis). This is where researchers suggest
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 reduces apoptosis (cell death).
Melatonin may assist in the treatment of disc degeneration. (2)
MELATONIN AND LIGHT FOR DISC DEGENERATION AND Millville 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 important
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 experienced a positive increase on the
effect of standard treatments on pain, sleep and depression. The decreased
pain intensity when moving and resting signified that melatonin
potentially offers pain relieving
effect. (4) Melatonin may be another method to
treat intervertebral disc degeneration.
LIGHT THERAPY AND BACK PAIN RELIEF
Since melatonin is activated
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 Millville back pain sufferers, too! These researchers believe
that this light treatment helps the circadian timing of sleep which
is mediated by melatonin. (5)
CONTACT Wilson Family Chiropractic
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 Millville chiropractic appointment for
your Millville back pain. Patients in Millville with disc degeneration may discover
additional relief with melatonin and light therapy together with chiropractic treatment. Mitochondria, mitophagy, autophagy,
melatonin and back pain are interestingly linked, are they
not?