Inflammation. Disc Degeneration. There is a connection.
Inflammation acts as the body’s response system to harmful
stimuli (injury, pathogens, metabolic stress – a disc herniation compressing a nerve!) as it attempts to repair itself
before the harm was achieved. New Roads Chiropractic Center is never
shocked at what the body can do!
New Roads Chiropractic Center sees its New Roads 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 take care of
the body. Melatonin is one nutritional tool that is proving value
in its ability to interrupt the inflammatory process
related disc herniation that brings about pain relief: back, neck, spine-related.
DISC DEGENERATION AND INFLAMMATION AND 'AUTOPHAGY'
Inflammatory markers interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6
(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are related
to intervertebral disc degeneration. (1) IL-1 β in fact promotes
itself, its own expression, by upregulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation. (2)
The body controls itself down to its cellular level
via autophagy, the natural process via which the body’s
cells clean out damaged (ie, by inflammation) or unneeded parts. In
a new study, melatonin boosted autophagy
and lessened the degradation of the disc’s
extracellular matrix (technically marked 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. New Roads Chiropractic Center is encouraged by this research to see just
how well melatonin can work for New Roads back pain linked
to disc degeneration.
MELATONIN AND ITS HEALING WAYS FOR THE DISC
Disc degeneration is such a common malady
seen at New Roads Chiropractic Center making positive news like this quite exciting. A new
study explained how melatonin could modulate
the extracellular matrix of the disc remodeling process initiated
by IL-1 β. Additionally, melatonin decreased the
inflammatory cell collection and decreased the release of associated
inflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. With this new finding
that melatonin interrupted the IL-1B feedback loop, researchers
postulated that melatonin may contribute to
the restoration process of intervertebral discs after damage has already been done. (1) New Roads Chiropractic Center will keep
following the new research on the role inflammation performs
in New Roads disc degeneration and melatonin’s role in tackling
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 apropos.
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 secretes melatonin naturally. Melatonin impacts
the body’s aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis (cell death), and autophagy
(cell-cleanout) processes. (1) Melatonin’s specific influence on
inflammation and disc degeneration is most interesting
to New Roads Chiropractic Center and our New Roads back pain patients.
CONTACT New Roads Chiropractic Center
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 illustrates how The Cox® Technic
System of Spinal Pain Management handles disc
degeneration for relief of chronic low back pain in her patient.
Schedule your New Roads chiropractic appointment with
New Roads Chiropractic Center today. We can discuss the role
inflammation plays in your back pain experience and how melatonin may help with the related disc
degeneration.