Back Pain research studies for holistic treatments

Back pain brings about one of the heaviest burden of . Despite much research, this condition remains poorly understood and effective treatments are frustratingly elusive. Thus, researchers in the field need to consider new hypotheses. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential co-factor for collagen crosslinks, a key determinant of ligament, tendon and bone quality. Recent studies have reported high frequency of hypovitaminosis C in the general population. We hypothesized that lack of vitamin C contributes to poor collagen properties and back pain. We conducted this study to examine the associations between serum concentration of vitamin C and the prevalence of spinal pain and related functional limitations in the adult general population.This study used nationwide cross-sectional data from the U.S. National Health and diet therapy Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2004. Data were available for 4,742 individuals aged?20 years.Suboptimal serum vitamin C concentrations were associated with the prevalence of neck pain (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-2.0), low back pain (aOR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0-1.6), and low back pain with pain below knee (aOR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0-1.9) in the past three months, self-reported diagnosis of arthritis/rheumatism (aOR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.2-1.7), and related functional limitations’ score (adjusted difference of means (aB): 0.03; 95% CI: 0.00-0.05).The prevalence of hypovitaminosis C in the general population is high. Our study shows associations betweenvitamin C and spinal pain that warrant further investigation to determine the possible importance of vitamin C in the treatment of back pain patients.

Abstract:
Background:
The present study sought to determine if subjects who had consumed coffee before performing a simulated computer office-work task found to provoke pain in the neck and shoulders and forearms and wrists exhibited different time course in the pain development than the subjects who had abstained from coffee intake. FINDINGS: Forty eight subjects all working fulltime, 22 with chronic shoulder and neck pain and 26 healthy pain-free subjects, were recruited to perform a computer-based office-work task for 90 min. Nineteen (40%) of the subjects had consumed coffee (1/2 -1 cup) on average 1 h 18 min before start. Pain intensity in the shoulders and neck and forearms and wrists was rated on a visual analogue scale every 15 min throughout the work task.During the work task the coffee consumers exhibited significantly lower pain increase than those who abstained from coffee. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects who had consumed coffee before starting a pain provoking office work task exhibited attenuated pain development compared with the subjects who had abstained from coffee intake. These results might have potentially interesting implications of a pain-modulating effect of caffeine in an everyday setting. However, studies with a double blind placebo controlled randomized design are needed.