Summary: Metabolic inflammation, common in individuals with metabolic disorders, significantly contributes to chronic pain conditions such as knee osteoarthritis and neuropathy. New research reveals that chronic inflammation alters mitochondrial and nerve function, often leading to chronic pain.
It is well-known that those living with metabolic disorders are more likely to develop chronic pain issues like low back pain, knee arthritis, various neuropathies, and other painful conditions. In a few cases, like in the case of knee osteoarthritis, it may be due to physical stress. However, in most instances, it is due to metabolic inflammation.
Metabolic inflammation, or metaflammation, is a chronic inflammation present in all individuals living with metabolic disorders. Science has only started learning about this issue and its role in various obesity-related complications. New studies show that adipose tissues are also endocrinal organs, and any changes in their function, like those in obese people, lead to higher inflammation.
This metabolic inflammation significantly increases the risk of heart disease, vascular diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and more. However, it also increases the risk of chronic pain syndromes.
For example, many chronic pain specialists has long believed that knee osteoarthritis in obese people mainly occurs due to physical stress. However, now certain understandings are changing. After all, not all obese people develop arthritis. Now, new studies suggest that metabolic inflammation might serve as a trigger in many instances.
With an improved ability to analyze inflammation markers, it is becoming increasingly evident that these markers or chemicals are elevated in obese people or those living with metabolic disorders. Over the years, higher levels of these markers may cause much health damage.
It is pretty likely that this metabolic inflammation is also behind some of the poorly understood painful conditions like fibromyalgia. After all, it is no secret that many of those living with metabolic disorders continue to experience pain for no evident cause.
Gradually, science is understanding how metabolic inflammation might be behind many painful conditions. Just take an example of one of the new studies, which shows that continually elevated inflammatory chemicals, even in small amounts, might alter mitochondrial function. These inflammatory markers appear to alter how neurons work, thus playing an important role in switching acute pain to chronic pain. That is why those living with metabolic health issues are more likely to experience fatigue and chronic pain, though, in many instances, such individuals might appear relatively healthy.
Yet, another sound evidence in favor of this theory comes from chronic infections. People who are living with chronic infections are more likely to develop chronic pain since they have elevated inflammatory markers. Thus, chronic, non-specific pains are more common in those living with HIV, tuberculosis, and so on. People are even more likely to experience chronic pain after certain viral infections, causing prolonged elevation in inflammatory markers. Hence, it would be right to conclude that chronic inflammation due to metabolic disorders would also likely increase chronic pain risk.
To add to the existing evidence, some studies have tested levels of hormones like leptin in those living with chronic painful conditions. Leptin is a hormone released by adipose tissue and plays a vital role in appetite regulation and metabolic rate. Studies have found that leptin levels are more likely to be altered in those experiencing chronic pain than in healthy adults.
Finally, there is now mounting evidence that metabolic inflammation is among the prime causes of neuropathy in those living with metabolic syndrome. It is these elevated cytokines (inflammatory chemicals) that cause much nerve damage. People with metaflammation are more likely to experience allodynia, which is pain from stimuli that normally would not cause pain.
So, chronic inflammation due to metabolic disorders might be among the significant causes of chronic pain syndromes experienced by many individuals. It also means that, unlike acute pain, managing chronic pain requires a very different approach. Interventional pain management uses such comprehensive approaches for chronic pain relief.
