If you suffer from chronic back pain, take note: A recent study has revealed that those who suffer from chronic back pain for one year may experience a reduction in the brain's gray matter equivalent to the amount lost by the average person in 10 to 20 years of normal aging. Gray matter refers to the darker-colored tissue of the brain. This is the "thinking" center of the brain, which is responsible memory and information processing.

Researchers compared 26 patients with chronic back pain to 26 matched healthy volunteers. The chronic back pain group consisted of patients who had been experiencing pain for one year. Along with pain they also experienced radiculopathy, which is numbness or tingling of the arms or legs caused by compression of the nerve roots. The normal decrease in gray matter, in people without back pain was found to be of a percent per year. However, the researchers found that the gray matter in chronic back pain patients decreased by 11 percent. In addition, the longer someone experienced chronic back pain, the more gray matter they lost.

The researchers concluded "Chronic back pain is accompanied by abnormal brain chemistry...implying neuronal loss or dysfunction in this region, reduced cognitive abilities on a task, and abnormal prefrontal processing."

While additional research is warranted, the information from this study should serve as a warning to those with back pain to seek chiropractic care as soon as possible in order to prevent the condition from becoming chronic. If you suffer from chronic pain, a doctor of chiropractic can help!

Reference: Apkarian AV, Sosa Y, Sonty S, et al. Chronic back pain is associated with decreased prefrontal and thalamic gray matter density. The Journal of Neuroscience, Nov. 17, 2004 24(46):10410-10475.

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