Vancouver Back Pain Related to Inflammation Reduced with Melatonin
Inflammation. Disc Degeneration. There is a relationship. Inflammation is the body’s response to damaging stimuli (injury, pathogens, metabolic stress – a disc herniation pushing on a nerve!) as it tries to restore itself to normal before the harm was achieved. Vancouver Disc Centers is never shocked at what the body can do! Vancouver Disc Centers sees its Vancouver chiropractic care as a partner of the body’s system in healing particularly when spine pain is an issue. Chiropractic care utilizes 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 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 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 the cellular level via autophagy, the natural process via which the body’s cells clear out damaged (ie, by inflammation) or unneeded parts. In a new study, melatonin enhanced autophagy and reduced the degradation of the disc’s extracellular matrix (technically indicated by a decline 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 promoting autophagy. (3) Wow. Vancouver Disc Centers is encouraged by this research to see just how well melatonin can perform for Vancouver back pain related to disc degeneration.
MELATONIN AND ITS HEALING WAYS FOR THE DISC
Disc degeneration is a very common condition seen at Vancouver Disc Centers making positive news like this quite rousing. A new study explained how melatonin could modify the extracellular matrix of the disc remodeling process initiated by IL-1 β. Additionally, melatonin decreased the inflammatory cell collection and decreased the release of linked inflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. With this new discovery that melatonin disrupted the IL-1B feedback loop, researchers proposed that melatonin may provide the restoration process of intervertebral discs after damage has already been done. (1) Vancouver Disc Centers will keep following the new research regarding the role inflammation plays in Vancouver disc degeneration and melatonin’s role in reducing it.
INFLAMMATION AND MELATONIN
The importance of melatonin in helping to slow or stop painful conditions due to inflammation is increasing. The description of melatonin as a multitasking molecule influencing mood, immunity, and energy among other mechanisms is quite fitting. 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 impacts the body’s aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis (cell death), and autophagy (cell-cleanout) activities. (1) Melatonin’s specific effect on inflammation and disc degeneration is most attention-getting to Vancouver Disc Centers and our Vancouver back pain patients.
CONTACT Vancouver Disc Centers
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 illustrates how The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management handles disc degeneration for relief of chronic low back pain in her patient.
Schedule your Vancouver chiropractic appointment with Vancouver Disc Centers soon. We can discuss the role inflammation plays in your back pain experience and how melatonin may address the related disc degeneration.
