Nutrition
Sleep
Track with sleep cycle, try to average 8hrs
Less sleep increases sensitivity to painful stimuli and is associated with the onset of chronic pain problems.
Most people start to move towards a more “pro-inflammatory” state at less than 7hrs sleep
Aim for a 1g of protein a day for each kg of healthy body weight.
100g of meat, fish or nuts will give you approx 20g of protein as a rough guide.
Look to get this from animal sources where possible. Nuts are an acceptable substitute for 1 portion a day.
3 eggs will provide approx 21grams
Ideally you would split this...
Highlights
Psychosocial symptoms are important predictors of those that do worse with chronic low back pain.
Currently the prevailing view is that psychosocial symptoms drive systemic inflammation.
Psychosocial problems increase inflammation, and inflammation increases psychosocial symptoms.
Psychosocial treatments decrease inflammation and reducing inflammation improves psychosocial symptoms.
The relationship is bidirectional and we should remember this when dealing with patients with psychosocial symptoms.
Explaining this relationship to patients may reduce the stigma associated with psychosocial...
Mindfulness is basically the western term for meditation. The practice has moved from weird hippies only, to being used by CEOs and professional sport, and is now being studied fairly extensively. This blog will focus on the relevance of mindfulness to chronic low back pain. Outlining the benefits and how to start a mindfulness practice.
Psychological stress can directly influence the musculoskeletal, endocrine, immune and nervous systems through the limbic system modifying chronic pain (Macphail 2014). Psychosocial risk factors for low back pain (LBP) chronicity are well known to lead to worse...
Abstract
C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is best known as an acute phase protein and is typically assessed in most general blood work. High sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) may be a useful clinical marker of chronic inflammatory states in musculoskeletal conditions. It appears that it is raised in inflammatory chronic low back pain (CLBP) and associated with reduced pain thresholds, weakness and reduced function. It is also possible CRP could contribute towards the development and maintenance of CLBP by activating the complement system which increases peripheral nociception. Diet and lifestyle factors can promote...
The limbic system is a key component of an individual’s psychology. Mood, personality and risk reward behaviour are all intimately related to limbic function. The amygdala plays a particularly important role in this regard. The “thought viruses” discussed by Butler and Moseley [1] highlight how the amygdala and hippocampus, in particular, interact to produce behaviours that may then increase the likelihood of musculoskeletal symptoms. These behaviours may become learned further influencing symptoms.
Mood can directly alter the pain experience. In a study of 65 patients, pain tolerance but not...