Manchester Chiropractic Relief of Back Pain due to Disc Degeneration May Be Boosted by Melatonin and Light Therapy
Melatonin. Mitochondria. Mitophagy. Autophagy. Oh my! Back pain links them all interestingly. Melatonin – a hormone secreted by the brain at night to regulate circadian rhythm – manages sleep which is essential to the body’s capability to recover from the day and prepare for the next. Mitophagy stimulates healthy turnover of mitochondria (the energy producers in cells). Mitophagy prevents the build-up of abnormal mitochondria in cells that may lead to cell degeneration. In the case of back pain, this would prevent such deterioration in the cells of the disc which may lead to disc degeneration. Autophagy is a normal practice that manages cell destruction and creation in the body. When there is cellular stress, autophagy is amplified. (1) Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries presents findings that melatonin and light therapy may intercede in this process and help with Manchester back pain relief.
MITOCHONDRIA AND DISC DEGENERATION
Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries knows how disc degeneration includes cellular oxidative stress, mitochondria issues and cell death (aka apoptosis). This is where researchers suggest melatonin may perform a beneficial role in the slowing of disc degeneration. Melatonin gets rid of oxygen free radicals, controls mitochondria function and balance, hastens mitrophagy and reduces apoptosis (cell death). Melatonin may help treat disc degeneration. (2)
MELATONIN AND LIGHT FOR DISC DEGENERATION AND Manchester 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 vital neuroendocrine hormone with good antioxidant effect that functions 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 decreased pain intensity when moving and resting signified that melatonin potentially offers pain relieving effect. (4) Melatonin may be another way to treat intervertebral disc degeneration.
LIGHT THERAPY AND BACK PAIN RELIEF
In so much as melatonin is activated by light and its lack, light treatment assists patients deal with 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 Manchester back pain sufferers, too! These researchers believe that this light treatment helps the circadian timing of sleep which is mediated by melatonin. (5)
CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
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 Manchester chiropractic appointment for your Manchester back pain. Patients in Manchester 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 connected, are they not?
