Melatonin. Mitochondria. Mitophagy. Autophagy. Oh my! Back pain connects them all interestingly.
Melatonin – the sleep regulating hormone – helps sleep which
is essential to the body’s ability to recover
from the day and get ready 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 precede cell degeneration. In the case of back pain,
this would prevent such disc
cell deterioration which could precede disc
degeneration. Autophagy is the normal bodily practice
that manages cell destruction and creation in the
body. When there is cellular stress, autophagy is amplified.
(1) Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC shares research that melatonin
and light therapy may intercede in this process and promote
La Grande back pain relief.
MITOCHONDRIA AND DISC DEGENERATION
Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC understands how disc degeneration involves cellular oxidative stress, mitochondria issues and cell death (aka
apoptosis). This is where researchers imply
melatonin may play a positive role in the reduction
of disc degeneration. Melatonin gets rid of oxygen free radicals,
normalizes 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 La Grande BACK PAIN
In a biological study of melatonin’s effect on intervertebral
disc degeneration, melatonin sustained nucleus
pulposus cells influenced by oxidative stress. Such stress leads
to harm of these cells. Melatonin is an essential
neuroendocrine hormone with sound 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 reduced
pain intensity when moving and resting indicated that melatonin
possibly offers pain relieving
effect. (4) Melatonin may be another method to
treat intervertebral disc degeneration.
LIGHT THERAPY AND BACK PAIN RELIEF
Since melatonin is produced
by light and its lack, light treatment helps patients cope with chronic low back pain, its pain intensity, behavior, and
threshold. It also helps
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 La Grande back pain sufferers, too! These researchers think
that this light treatment regulates the circadian timing of sleep which
is facilitated by melatonin. (5)
CONTACT Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
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 La Grande chiropractic appointment for
your La Grande back pain. Patients in La Grande 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?