BDNF, Your Brain, And Pain - How Chemicals In Your Body Can Contribute To Low Back Pain

Struggling with chronic low back pain? You’re not alone—millions of Americans face this persistent challenge every day, searching for answers and relief. Chronic pain is notoriously complex, leaving many patients feeling trapped in a cycle of discomfort and frustration.

But did you know that a powerful chemical in your body, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), might play a significant role in your pain? There is a lot to unpack in this article so if you want the TLDR just click here. We have also included a simple illustration here for you to check out:

Can Chemicals Cause Back Pain?

Recent research into low back pain has uncovered fascinating insights into the complex relationship between our body’s biochemistry and how we perceive and experience pain.

Among the key players in this puzzle is Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), a chemical that plays a crucial role in nerve health and communication. Emerging evidence suggests that BDNF may significantly influence chronic pain, particularly in conditions like low back pain.

In this article, we’ll explore what BDNF is, how it interacts with your brain and nervous system, and why it may be a critical factor in the persistence of chronic pain. Beyond understanding its role, we’ll delve into actionable strategies to help regulate BDNF levels, offering you a fresh perspective on managing your pain.

Whether you’re looking for lifestyle adjustments, scientific insights, or practical steps, this article will guide you toward innovative approaches to addressing low back pain and improving your overall well-being.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Before exploring strategies to address chronic pain, it’s essential to understand what it is. Chronic pain is typically defined as pain that persists for more than 3 to 6 months, long after an injury or condition should have healed. Pain is also considered chronic if it recurs over time, even without a specific injury.

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) classifies chronic pain into two broad categories: chronic primary pain and chronic secondary pain. Chronic primary pain includes conditions like chronic primary musculoskeletal pain (such as low back pain) and chronic widespread pain (e.g., fibromyalgia). Chronic secondary pain, on the other hand, is associated with an identifiable underlying condition, such as arthritis or a specific injury.

Understanding Chronic Widespread Pain (CWP)

The American College of Rheumatology defined chronic widespread pain (CWP) as “pain that lasts more than 3 months, located above and below the waist, and on both sides of the body”. The definition has also been updated to include physical symptoms like fatigue and waking unrefreshed. Chronic widespread pain is often associated with conditions like fibromyalgia.

Osteoarthritic Pain

Osteoarthritis (OA) is another type of chronic pain disorder. OA is a chronic and progressive degenerative joint disease that occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones wears down over time. OA can affect any of the joints but the most common joints affected generally include hands, hips, knees, and spine.

Neuroplasticity And BDNF?

Now that we know what chronic pain is and what conditions it is associated with, we can look at what causes it.

Neuroplasticity is a term that refers to the ability of the nervous system to change how it works in response to certain internal or external stimulations like injuries or trauma. Researchers have been investigating how chronic pain can come about when our nervous systems respond to injuries in the wrong way - particularly when it comes to low back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia.

Certain hormones, known as neurotrophins, control how our nervous systems work. One of these hormones is BDNF, an important member of the neurotrophin family and an essential player for the healthy development of our nervous system.

The Link Between BDNF And Inflammation

Inflammation is a major cause of chronic pain, and research has uncovered a link between inflammation and BDNF. When inflammation levels are high in the body, BDNF is not produced as much as when there isn't inflammation. In other words, inflammation suppresses BDNF.

On the flip side, BDNF plays an important role in regulating inflammation levels in the brain. The production of BDNF is highly regulated in the body and there can be a lot of variation in how high the BDNF levels are between different people.

The Link Between BDNF, Inflammation, and Back Pain

Research has uncovered a key connection between inflammation and pain, suggesting that inflammation is the root cause of nearly all pain experiences—whether acute or chronic. From the activation of pain receptors to the transmission of pain signals and even neuroplasticity, the entire pain process is essentially driven by inflammation.

So, what does this mean for low back pain? Most cases of back and neck pain arise from injuries to muscles, discs, ligaments, joints, or nerves. These injuries trigger an inflammatory response, which sets the stage for the pain you feel. Whether it’s a simple strain or more complex conditions like disc degeneration or a herniated disc, inflammation plays a critical role in the pain process, and BDNF is a key player in amplifying this response.

BDNF Levels In Chronic Pain Patients

It is a well known fact that BDNF levels are different in chronic pain patients compared to healthy subjects. Data has shown that BDNF levels are lower in patients with osteoarthritis but higher in those with fibromyalgia.

One study that looked specifically at serum levels of BDNF in healthy patients compared to pain patients found that the ‘levels of both free and total BDNF’ were ‘significantly lower in pain patients compared to healthy subjects’. This means that if we know BDNF levels are low in chronic pain patients, increasing those levels may help reduce the pain and inflammation in low back patients.

It also helps us to know that changes in how much BDNF is produced/expressed are often associated with psychiatric diseases like depression, as well as pathological aging so that those issues can be addressed.

How BDNF Is Connected To Mental Health

While we know about the link between inflammation and BDNF, there is also growing evidence to show that BDNF plays a role in mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, which are often also associated with chronic pain patients.

Low back pain patients, as well as chronic pain patients, often suffer from psychological symptoms like depression, anxiety, loneliness and sleep deprivation. Studies have found that the levels of BDNF are different, not only in chronic pain patients, but also in those suffering from major depression.

A study of patients in Macedonia and Bulgaria in 2013 confirmed that ‘low serum levels of BDNF are a state of abnormality that is evident during depression’.

What Causes BDNF Levels To Decrease?

When it comes to lower BDNF levels in our bodies there are a few main culprits that cause most of the damage. Here are the key drivers:

Inflammation:

Since we already know that there is a two way relationship between BDNF and inflammation, it isn’t really much of a surprise to find out that inflammation (and things like stress, that trigger inflammation) can cause BDNF levels to drop.

Inflammation is often a result our immune systems being activated due to factors such as stress, obesity, and aging, to trauma or injury.

Stress:

Prenatal, early life, social, and unpredictable stress are all associated with lower BDNF levels.

Age:

Getting older is another factor that has been connected with decreasing levels of BDNF. Hippocampal atrophy (an indicator of Alzheimer’s Disease) is another complication and influencing factor. Low BDNF levels are also associated with other age-related neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

Exercise:

A lack of exercise has been linked to lower levels of BDNF.

Diet:

BDNF has also been linked to what we eat. Researchers have found that the typical western diet that is high in carbohydrates and fat decreases levels of BDNF found in the brain (hippocampus).

How Can You Increase BDNF?

Knowing your BDNF levels are low, and knowing the types of things that can affect your levels also means that we can know how to fix them and increase them.

Reduce Stress:

Taking steps to reduce stress levels can also help reduce inflammation in the body. Therapeutic practices like mindfulness, deep breathing and meditation can help to control stress levels and help curb inflammation levels in the body.

Antidepressants:

Studies have found that certain antidepressants can help to increase levels of BDNF in the body, which is why data have shown that BDNF levels increase after antidepressant treatment.

Diet:

Research has shown that a carbohydrate-restricted diet, like Keto diets or Paleo diets, can increase serum BDNF levels.

Exercise:

Physical exercise has consistently increased levels of BDNF. The research has gone further to identify that this is intensity dependent. A small study of 12 people conducted in 2019 found that those who engaged in HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) experienced greater increases in BDNF levels than those who engaged in moderate intensity exercise.

TLDR:

• BDNF is a hormone that our bodies produce that works directly on inflammation in our bodies. We know that inflammation is caused by things like trauma, injury or stress. Inflammation is a condition that often causes back pain.

• Stress, depression, a poor diet, and a lack of exercise can often cause low levels of BDNF in our bodies, and coincidentally, these are also risk factors for back pain!

• When we engage in exercise, reduce stress levels, and eat more fruits and vegetables, and eat less processed foods and carbohydrates we can increase our BDNF levels as well as help reduce low back pain.

• Another coincidence? Low BDNF levels have been found in people experiencing psychological challenges like depression and anxiety. Yet another risk factor for low back pain if we look at the condition from a biopsychosocial perspective.

Conclusions

Our bodies are incredible things and there is such a powerful connection between our minds and our bodies. To look at back pain from only one perspective like a trauma often doesn’t explain the pain for millions of others which is why it can be so hard to diagnose and so hard to treat, and is another reason why imaging often doesn’t show any conclusive reasons for pain.

If you are one of the millions of people who can’t seem to find a reason why you are still struggling with low back pain, despite trying dozens of different products, BDNF might be something for you to consider as at least a part of the puzzle.