Chronic Pain may be Shrinking your Brain
Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 10:35PMMy dad (60+ years old) asked me the other day what he could do to help his memory. I suggested he first improve his diet (on most days he eats a bowl of Apple Jacks mixed with Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast, McDonalds hamburger for lunch and Cheetos for dinner/snack). We talked about supplements that may be helpful (e.g. Ginko biloba).
But what else can we do? What about addressing chronic pain?
A recent study demonstrated that “compared with pain-free peers, subjects suffering chronic low-back pain had brains that were thinner and less densely packed in six specific regions of the brain.”[i] The parts of the brain affected included components of the frontal cortex, the area that plays an important role in attention, judgment and reasoning. Other regions affected “help to process mood, pain signals and judgments about what those around us are thinking and doing.” [ii]
So for those of us that start out with brains that feel all too thin, we need to avoid the detrimental effects of chronic pain. In this study, the subjects received spine injections or had back surgery. On follow-up scanning of the brain 6 months later, the dorsolateral prefontal cortex appeared to have regenerated itself. This specific part of the brain “plays a key role in mood, social judgment, short-term memory and higher-order thinking, and any or all might suffer with the loss of cell density in the region.”[iii] A test of brain function showed that whatever differences in brain function had separated chronic pain sufferers from healthy controls disappeared. [iv]
The authors of this interesting study concluded "Our results imply that treating chronic back pain can restore normal brain function." [v]
So how do we best take care of our backs and stop the shrinking or our brains? Consult with your physician, see a physical therapist and check out some of the recommendations at www.backexercisedoctor.com.
[i] The Journal of Neuroscience, 18 May 2011, 31(20): 7540-7550.
[ii] The Journal of Neuroscience, 18 May 2011, 31(20): 7540-7550.
[iii] http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-backpain-brain-20110518,0,6995206.story
[iv] The Journal of Neuroscience, 18 May 2011, 31(20): 7540-7550.
[v] http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-backpain-brain-20110518,0,6995206.story
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