Lower Back Pain – The Cause Might Surprise You!
Pain and Acid Base Balance
Dr. Debbie Smrz, ND
Lower back pain quickly puts into perspective how precious optimal health and easy mobility is. Everyday tasks become difficult, sleep, elusive as getting comfortable is an impossibility and thoughts of exercise go right out the window.
Interestingly, often a light movement seems to be the final causative factor. So often I hear “All I did was put groceries away” or “I was brushing my teeth and my back gave out”. Because the pathogenesis of back pain is so difficult to pinpoint, long term solutions too are elusive. With a recurrence rate of 85%, and 50 – 80% of the population being affected, lower back pain is listed as one of the 10 causes of morbidity.
Typically, pain is attributed to dysfunction of the spinal column such as injury or degeneration. You might be told “you’re getting old” but the prevalence in children and adolescence is rising, bringing into question the hypothesis of aging and degeneration as the root cause.
A systemic review of 136 articles investigating lower back pain was carried out, with the investigators concluding that a decrease in pH may be a common culprit in many cases.
Let’s examine the proposed mechanism for this hypothesis. First, low pH caused by lactate stimulates the muscle and may help with muscle tension, which causes low back pain. Second, low pH stimulates the nerve roots and produces the feeling of pain. Third, low pH changes the matrix metabolism, common to neuronal death and low back pain and finally, low pH can cause muscle spasms which have been hypothesized to lead to lower back pain. (1). Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that the addition of an alkaline multimineral may help ease the symptoms in patients with chronic back pain, suggesting that a disturbed acid-base balance may contribute to the symptoms of low back pain.
Maintaining specific pH’s in all areas of our body is one of the most important tasks we preform each day, with a lot of our energy (ATP) being used for this task. Your skin’s optimal pH is 5.5, pancreatic enzymes need an alkaline pH of 8.6 to be , your saliva is fairly neutral at a pH of 7 and most importantly your blood must maintain a strict pH of between 7.35-7.45. Deviations in blood pH can lead to the serious issue of metabolic acidosis which can lead to death.
The very act of living produces acids in our cells which must be neutralized. The biproducts of metabolism produce lactic acid, keto acids, sulfuric acids, ammonium ions, uric acids and phosphoric acids. These end products of metabolism are either founds as free protons [[H+] if we consume primarily acidifying foods such as meat, grains and cheeses, or as basic end products with consumption of fruits and vegetables. The body has numerous buffering systems and mechanisms to rid itself of these H+ ions, from Co2 gas in the lungs, to HCO3- in the kidneys, to the bicarbonate buffering system in the bone, muscles and blood, and finally if temporary storage is needed so as not to disrupt the acid base levels, storage in the connective tissues by negatively charged glycoproteins.
The 5 contributing factors to your lower pH (acidic) levels include:
- Stress
- Diet
- Environment (water, poor quality air etc.)
- Chemicals (alcohol, medication, personal care products)
- Metabolism
We know that all chronic disease is in an inflammatory, acidic environment so making a concerted effort to decrease acidity in your body will not only decrease your chance of experiencing back pain, but is a major step in any longevity and prevention protocol.
References
- Liang CZ, Li H, Tao YQ, et al. The relationship between low pH in intervertebral discs and low back pain: a systematic review. Arch Med Sci. 2012;8(6):952-956. doi:10.5114/aoms.2012.32401
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3542485/
- Pascoe reference guide – are you in Acid-Base Balance? The bases of Health