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 attempts to repair itself
before the harm was done. Moses Chiropractic is always amazed at how the body takes care of itself!
Moses Chiropractic sees its West Palm Beach chiropractic care as a partner of
the body’s system in healing particularly
when there is spine pain. Chiropractic care uses
many tools like spinal manipulation, exercise, and nutrition to help
the body. Melatonin is one nutritional tool that is showing value
in its ability to interrupt 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 associated with 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 during which the body’s
cells clean out damaged (ie, by inflammation) or unneeded parts. In
a recent 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 final conclusion was that melatonin prevents
intervertebral disc degeneration by stimulating autophagy. (3)
Wow. Moses Chiropractic is encouraged by this research to see just
how well melatonin can perform for West Palm Beach back pain linked
to disc degeneration.
MELATONIN AND ITS HEALING WAYS FOR THE DISC
Disc degeneration is such a common condition
seen at Moses Chiropractic making positive news like this quite exciting. A recent
study stated that melatonin could modify
the extracellular matrix of the disc remodeling process initiated
by IL-1 β. Additionally, melatonin reduced 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
postulated that melatonin may support
the restoration process of intervertebral discs after damage has already been done. (1) Moses Chiropractic continues
following the new research regarding the role inflammation performs
in West Palm Beach disc degeneration and melatonin’s role in reducing
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 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) processes. (1) Melatonin’s specific effect on
inflammation and disc degeneration is most interesting
to Moses Chiropractic and our West Palm Beach back pain patients.
CONTACT Moses Chiropractic
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 addresses disc
degeneration for relief of chronic low back pain in her patient.
Schedule your West Palm Beach chiropractic appointment with
Moses Chiropractic now. We can discuss how inflammation affects your
back pain and how melatonin may address the related disc
degeneration.