Diabetes, Excess Body Fat, And Pain
You will often hear us asking about your health history, “do you have diabetes, heart disease, cancer etc” and might be wondering what that has to do with your back or neck pain. As we study how our body processes pain we are starting to understand just how complex our pain processing system is, and that it is not as simple as damage = pain. There is much more to it.
A paper that recently came across my desk was looking at the effects of increased blood sugar (as seen in someone with uncontrolled diabetes), and excess body fat on their pain processing systems. What this paper found was that in these individuals, their ability to process pain in a normal way is disrupted and may lead to elevated pain levels. In people with normal blood glucose levels, our body can effectively modulate pain in both the body tissues themselves and in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). This ability is compromised in the elevated blood glucose and excess body fat groups.
According to Diabetes Canada, there are 11.7 million Canadians living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, which makes this study even more relevant to anyone helping patients in pain such as a chiropractor, physiotherapist or registered massage therapist.
We still have a long way to go in studying this topic, but it is another step in the right direction for helping us manage the pain our patients are experiencing. If you are unsure about your blood glucose levels, please contact your family doctor.
– Dr. Trevor McArthur, Chiropractor
References:
Ye D, Fairchild TJ, Vo L, Drummond PD. High Blood Glucose and Excess Body fat Enhance Pain Sensitivity and Weaken Pain Inhibition in Healthy Adults: A Single-blind Cross-over Randomized Controlled Trial. J Pain. 2023 Jan;24(1):128-144. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2022.09.006. Epub 2022 Sep 16. PMID: 36122810.
