Red. Swollen. Hot. Painful. Signs of inflammation that no
Richmond back pain patient wants to suffer. Johnson Chiropractic
delivers chiropractic services to decrease back pain
by identifying and addressing any associated
inflammation.
INFLAMMATION AND BACK PAIN RELATED
How can you differentiate if there’s
inflammation? Like anything else, researchers search
for ways to measure it. To measure inflammation, researchers look for inflammatory biomarkers, biological markers like tumor
necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6,
interleukin-1β, that exposed an increase. Researchers
have uncovered that chronic inflammation increased
cytokine production and triggered pro-inflammatory
pathways that may bring about non-specific low back pain. (1)
Researchers detected systemic inflammation in chronic LBP and
may influence transition from acute to persistent low back pain. Specifically,
CRP was discovered to be elevated in acute low back pain patients versus control patients. TNF was higher in back pain
patients especially in patients with depression. (2) Since
researchers have already documented that inflammation
is linked to back pain, Johnson Chiropractic knows that
inflammation must be reduced in order to
help reduce Richmond back pain.
HOW TO STOP INFLAMMATION
Well, first, know what inflammation does. Researchers
made use of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to simulate
intervertebral disc degeneration in experiments. They want
to see what might potentially decrease
the generated back pain that comes with it
and/or even prevent the degeneration in the first place
so we humans don’t have to suffer
low back pain at all! That is a tall order
though, Johnson Chiropractic understands. But consider
this: researchers utilized LPS to create the
degeneration that led to low back pain. They found
that procyanidin B3 (PRO-B3) found in our diets blocked
the production of inflammatory markers - tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-Α),
interleukin-6 (IL-6), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide – associated
with disc degeneration. It also stopped the loss of the
disc’s gelatinous nucleus pulposus cells and structural damage of
its anulus fibrosus (outer rings of disc). What’s all this mean
to researchers seeking a way to prevent degenerative
disc degeneration (DDD)? PRO-B3 may be considered as a
treatment agent for intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). This is a welcome bit
of information for those 80% of us adults who are likely
to have IVDD, a major cause of low back pain. (3) Another recent
paper described that the p38 MAPK inflammatory pathway may be a
way to postpone DDD utilizing the tyrosine
kinase inhibitor, Genistein. (4) That’s hopeful
in the treatment of Richmond back pain and inflammation.
Vitamin D FOR INFLAMMATION
Research states that vitamin D deficiency is associated
with low back pain that is stronger in younger women and in those with more
severe deficiency. (5) Vitamin D deficiency is linked to lumbar
disc disease and more severe low back pain in postmenopausal women. (6) Let’s talk about your vitamin D status at your next
Richmond chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Sarah Murrow on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. In this episode, Dr. Murrow and her patient present how the Cox® Technic System alleviated back pain due to disc bulges.