Chronic pain is more than just discomfort and persisting pain. New evidence shows that chronic pain changes immunity and the DNA system. Apx. 100 million Americans are suffering from chronic pain. This pain changes the DNA in the brain and the T cells, a kind of essential white blood cells for immunity.
Impact of Chronic Pain & Stress on the Immune System
Both chronic pain and stress can have a huge impact on your immune system. According to research conducted at McGill University in laboratory mice, chronic pain reprograms the working system of the gene present in the immune system. We told you earlier that pain can make changes in T cells. This is still not clear how much the change affects the T cell’s ability to combat infection. However, there seems to be a strong connection between chronic pain and DNA changes.
Pain can cause stress to you, and when this is chronic, it can cause long-term stress in the body. The neurologic, immune system, and endocrine changes to respond to stress. These changes are helpful in removing dangers. When the body starts to respond, the cortisol level goes up. The regular rise in cortisol levels declines the immune system’s ability. Older people are prone to have lower immunity levels in lymphocyte cells, delayed wound healing, and are susceptible to viral infections.
Patients who have autoimmune disorders like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis or people who are undergoing immunosuppressive medications are at a higher risk of being infected. Going by nature, such medications restrain the body’s natural immune response.
Chronic Diseases Affecting the Immune System
Chronic pain is often linked with multiple chronic diseases impacting the immune system. A few factors like stress response of the body and inactivity for a long time can change a human body. Owing to the changes, the body will suffer from high blood pressure and weight gain. In return, these conditions will open the doors for strokes, heart diseases, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. It has been found that the chances of cardiac disease are higher in people with chronic pain.
Try to reduce your body’s stress response, as it will help affect the immune system. Try to calm down your over-anxious nervous system. You can use different breathing techniques. Try the simple ones first. Start with meditation, breathing exercises, or yoga, or ask your pain management doctors for a few techniques. You can also reduce stress by spending time with your family, watching your favorite movie, listening to good music, reading books, or starting long-forgotten hobbies.
Contact us for pain management doctors in OKC. We will help you to combat chronic pain.
Understanding The Pain System
Michael Salter, a pain researcher at Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, spoke at the 2018 North American Pain School to understand how these two schemes interact. Studies in mice have shown that chronic pain is caused by microglia, the central nervous system immune cell (brain and spinal cord).
The basics of the pain system must first be understood. Nerve cells (neurons), known as adversaries, relay information to the spinal cord about potential bodily threats – such as high heat or hazardous substances. In the event of the receipt of this information by neurons on the spinal cord in the form of electrical signaling, they can turn up or down the signal and check that the signal is being transmitted to the brain. Salter showed that microglia in the spinal cord can amplify the signal from the nociceptors during the development of chronic pain after nerve damage. When the signal reaches the brain, an experience of pain may culminate.
How do Stress, DNA & Chronic Pain Affect the Immune System?
Current stress and chronic pain can affect immune function. Chronic pain can reprogram how the genes work in the immune system, according to research carried out on laboratory mice at McGill University. Indeed, the way in which DNA is noted in special immune cells called T cells appears to be changing chronic pain promptly. Although it is unclear how much these changes affect the capacity of these T cells for infections, it appears that these important infection fighters have a strong connection between chronic pain and the changes in the DNA marker.
An ongoing experience of pain can certainly trigger stress, which can lead to long-term effects on the body if the pain remains chronic. Consider stress response as a combination of changes in the neurological, endocrine, and immune systems to help the body avoid a perceived risk or threat. The level of the hormone cortisol will start to rise if the stress reaction continues. The decline in the function of the immune system involves long-term elevation of cortisol levels. For example, older caregivers have shown lower immune cell levels such as lymphocytes, slower wound cures, and are more vulnerable to viral infections.
Patients receiving immunosuppressive treatments with painful autoimmune disorders, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, are also at higher risk of infection. Immunocompromising agents inhibit the natural immune response of the body by their very nature.
Chronic pain may also be linked to other chronic illnesses which affect immune system efficacy. Factors related to pain, such as stress and prolonged inactivity, can lead to body changes that increase blood pressure and promote weight gain, which, in turn, become risk factors for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and others. In fact, the incidence of cardiomyopathies in chronic pain has been found to be significantly higher.
Contact Pain Management Doctors to Treat Chronic Pain & Improve the Immune System
Do what you can to minimize your body’s stress response to limit the effect of pain on your immune system. Consider calming an overly anxious nervous system with simple relaxation techniques, like breathing, meditation, and gentle yoga, or maybe learning special techniques from a psychologist or therapist. Other ways to reduce stress include exercise, fresh air, a funny movie, and unplugging your appliances.
Contact the pain management doctors in OKC to get rid of chronic pain. At Oklahoma Spine & Pain Management, we help manage chronic pain even in the worst conditions.
**Disclaimer: This content should not be considered medical advice and does not imply a doctor-patient relationship.
