Fort Wayne 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 in an interesting way. Melatonin – the sleep regulating hormone – manages sleep which is vital to the body’s capability to recuperate 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 avoid such disc cell deterioration which could lead to disc degeneration. Autophagy is the normal bodily process that controls cell destruction and creation in the body. When there is cellular stress, autophagy is increased. (1) Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc presents findings that melatonin and light therapy may intercede in this process and promote Fort Wayne back pain relief.
MITOCHONDRIA AND DISC DEGENERATION
Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc understands how disc degeneration includes oxidative stress on the cell, mitochondria problems and cell death (aka apoptosis). This is the area researchers suggest melatonin may perform a beneficial role in the reduction of disc degeneration. Melatonin gets rid of oxygen free radicals, adjusts mitochondria function and balance, speeds up mitrophagy and slows apoptosis (cell death). Melatonin may help treat disc degeneration. (2)
MELATONIN AND LIGHT FOR DISC DEGENERATION AND Fort Wayne BACK PAIN
In a biological study of melatonin’s effect on intervertebral disc degeneration, melatonin maintained nucleus pulposus cells affected by oxidative stress. Such stress leads to impairment of these cells. Melatonin is an vital neuroendocrine hormone with sound antioxidant effect that acts on biological clock regulation. (3) Chronic non-specific low back pain sufferers who added melatonin to 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 signified that melatonin possibly has pain relieving effect. (4) Melatonin may be another method 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 helps 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 surely help Fort Wayne back pain sufferers, too! These researchers suspect that this light treatment regulates the circadian timing of sleep which is facilitated by melatonin. (5)
CONTACT Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc
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 Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment for your Fort Wayne back pain. Patients in Fort Wayne with disc degeneration may discover extra relief with melatonin and light therapy alongside chiropractic treatment. Mitochondria, mitophagy, autophagy, melatonin and back pain are interestingly connected, are they not?
