health Matters
by Dr. Thomas K. Lo, Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center
Everyone experiences pain, but pain becomes a problem when it’s chronic.
Millions of people in the United States are living with some form of chronic pain, including low back pain, chronic headaches and migraines, joint pain, digestive pain, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune conditions.
Chronic pain can seriously interfere with your daily activities, work, studies, family life, social life, and emotional well-being. It may even lead to disability. By addressing the root causes of chronic pain and using natural support strategies, you may possibly reduce chronic pain and regain your health.
What is Chronic Pain?
Pain signals that there is something wrong with your body. It causes an uncomfortable or unpleasant feeling to signal that something is off and needs care. Pain is essentially a protective mechanism.
There are two types of pain: acute and chronic. Acute pain comes suddenly, and it is caused by something very specific. Acute pain may happen because of an injury, accident, surgery, dental work, burn, cut, infection, or other specific events. Acute pain may last for a couple of hours, a few days, a few weeks, or in some serious cases, a few months. Acute pain gradually gets better over time and eventually goes away completely.
Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than six months. It is ongoing, as either present and daily or comes back repeatedly in flares. It may start with a specific event, such as an injury or illness, as acute pain, but it just stays around without completely going away. It may happen without a specific trigger or known reason. In both cases, your body’s pain signals stay active for months or years.
Chronic Pain Symptoms
Symptoms of chronic pain can range from mild to severe. They may change throughout the day, week, or month. They may be debilitating and lead to disability.
There are different forms and symptoms of chronic pain, including: headaches and migraines, muscle tension and pain, joint pain and arthritis, back pain, pelvic or bladder pain, nerve pain, Fibromyalgia or widespread body pains, and cancer-related pain.
Chronic pain may cause tense muscles, low energy, changes in appetite, limited ability to move your body, fatigue, and poor sleep.
It may greatly affect your emotional well-being by contributing to anger, mood changes, anxiety, fear of reinjury or certain activities, and depression.
Chronic Pain Causes and Risk Factors
Chronic pain may develop for a variety of reasons. It is often unclear or complex. The following factors may cause or increase your risk of developing chronic pain:
Poor posture
Sleeping on a poor mattress
Lifting or carrying heavy objects
Wearing high heels
Traumatic injury
Being overweight or obese
Overuse injuries and unattended injuries
Congenital conditions, such as scoliosis
Aging and degenerative changes of the spine
Being female
Injuries or surgeries
No obvious physical cause
There are various health issues that may cause or increase the risk of chronic pain, including:
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Interstitial cystitis
Endometriosis
Vulvodynia
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ)
Multiple sclerosis
Stomach ulcers
Gallbladder disease
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Irritable bowel diseases (IBDs)
Other autoimmune and chronic diseases
Cancer
AIDS
Chronic Pain Root Cause Factors
To improve chronic pain, first, you must understand the root cause factors of your pain. The following factors may or may not directly cause your pain, but can certainly contribute to underlying health issues that can increase your risk of pain.
Trauma and Injuries
Trauma and injuries, including accidents, falls, physical attacks, and sports injuries, first result in acute pain. However, in many cases, symptoms may drag on and lead to chronic pain.
You don’t need to suffer from a serious injury, traumatic injury, or traumatic brain injury to have chronic pain.
Sometimes, people have a difficult time achieving full recovery after surgery or an acute small accident.
In other cases, ignoring the problem, not taking a rest, not seeking physical therapy, or not making posture or lifestyle changes can cause chronic pain.
If you continue to push through the pain without strengthening your body and correcting imbalances, you may end up with chronic pain.
Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation is an underlying problem in most chronic health issues. Chronic pain is often a warning sign that you are dealing with chronic inflammation.
According to a 2021 article published by StatPearls, you may develop chronic inflammation if you miss eliminating a pathogen causing acute inflammation, have been exposed to low-level environmental toxins, are dealing with an autoimmune issue, your cells are experiencing oxidative stress or mitochondrial dysfunction, your cells have trouble mediating inflammation, or you have recurrent episodes of the same acute pain.
Many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, IBDs, lupus, and fibromyalgia, are characterized by chronic pain.
Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance means that your body is unable to respond to insulin well and convert glucose properly for energy. This will cause your pancreas to overwork and create more insulin. Over time, this can lead to blood sugar issues, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes.
Insulin resistance is one of the main underlying causes of chronic inflammation, a possible link to chronic pain.
There is increased evidence suggesting that insulin resistance may be one of the culprits behind fibromyalgia.
A 2019 report published in PLoS One has found that insulin resistance may be an underlying reason behind fibromyalgia and related chronic pain.
A 2017 review published in Joint Bone Spine has found a possible connection between insulin resistance and rheumatoid arthritis.
Chronic Infections
According to a 2021 article published by StatPearls, chronic infections may lead to chronic inflammation, which may result in chronic pain as well. These chronic infections may include viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections.
The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a common culprit behind chronic pain.
According to a 2021 study published in Frontiers in Immunology, EBV infections may cause chronic fatigue syndrome, which is often characterized by chronic pain.
A 2021 study published in The Spine Journal has found that chronic bacterial infections may lead to chronic back pain.
A 2017 study published in Frontiers in Medicine has found that chronic musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and depression are common in Lyme disease patients.
Leaky Gut and Food
Sensitivities
Your gut is connected to your entire body. If your gut microbiome balance and gut health are off, it can increase chronic inflammation in your body and lead to various health issues, including chronic pain.
Leaky gut syndrome means that your gut lining has developed larger holes that can allow toxins, pathogens, and larger food particles to pass into your bloodstream along with nutrients.
This can cause gut microbiome imbalance, chronic inflammation, autoimmunity, and chronic symptoms.
Food sensitivities may also increase chronic inflammation, gut microbiome imbalance, chronic pain, and other chronic symptoms.
A 2017 study published in Frontiers in Immunology and a 2020 review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences have linked leaky gut syndrome to autoimmune diseases. As you know, many autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, IBDs, lupus, MS, and autoimmune thyroid dysfunction, can cause chronic pain along with other chronic symptoms.
A 2015 review published in Mediators of Inflammation has found a link between leaky gut and IBDs.
A 2020 study published in Nutrients has found that addressing dietary patterns, including food allergies and sensitivities, may help to address chronic pain.
Mold Toxicity
Mold is a fungus that can grow on almost anything. It can thrive in many conditions, but most specifically, in warm temperatures and high moisture environments, both indoors and outdoors.
Mold loves to hide in your bathroom, kitchen, basement, behind wallpaper, behind drywall, and under your carpet. It can become a serious issue if you have a moisture leak or flooding, or live or work in an unkempt or old building.
Chronic mold exposure can lead to mold toxicity, chronic inflammation, chronic pain, and other chronic symptoms.
Chronic Stress & Poor Sleep
Chronic stress and poor sleep can increase chronic inflammation in your body. This can lead to chronic pain and other chronic symptoms.
According to a 2017 review published in Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks), chronic stress and chronic pain may just be two sides of the same coin.
A 2015 review published in the Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences has found that chronic pain may increase during times of stress.
A 2011 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology has found that addressing emotions and emotional stress is critical when it comes to chronic pain.
A 2021 study published in Science Reports has found that chronic poor sleep can increase chronic back pain and related disability.
Moreover, chronic pain can increase chronic stress and interfere with your sleep. Poor sleep may also increase chronic stress and chronic pain. Chronic stress can disrupt your sleep, increase chronic pain, and make it more difficult to deal with chronic pain emotionally.
Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that your body makes when the rays of the sun penetrate your skin. You can also get vitamin D through some foods and supplementation.
Vitamin D is essential for your body, including for bone, muscle, immune, brain, and mental health.
Due to our indoor lifestyle, vitamin D deficiency is very common, and it can lead to chronic pain and chronic health issues.
A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Public Health Nutrition has found a link between low vitamin D levels and chronic pain.
