Previously, I have discussed many effects of melatonin on human health, but one of the aspects of melatonin I have not discussed here is how melatonin affects the spine.
In this article, I will discuss the multiple methods of action through which melatonin has shown the potential to help improve certain aspects of a damaged or aging spine. One thing I didn't mention about the spine is the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF). One of the essential components of the CSF is melatonin.
As we age, the melatonin levels in the CSF decrease. Counteracting this decline could be beneficial for our health. The CSF circulates throughout various brain regions and is crucial in many neurodegenerative diseases. Melatonin has demonstrated therapeutic effects in these conditions, underscoring its importance beyond merely regulating sleep.
The spine is a relatively complex part of the body that is basically composed of vertebrae( 33) or bones, facet joints, intervertebral discs, nerves, and a spinal cord. Since there is bone in the spine, it is subject to osteoporosis, significantly weakening these bones and increasing the potential for fractures and breaks. The discs, which act as a cushion or shock absorber for the spine, are also subject to damage such as rupture, which is often referred to as a herniated disc, ruptured disc, bulging disc, or slipped disc. These discs are also subject to degenerative disc disease (DDD), with the risk for DDD usually increasing with age. I discussed two potential remedies for DDD in a previous article here:
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/ddd-art-solbrig.html
I also discussed remedies for osteoporosis here:
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/osteoporosis-supplements-art-solbrig.html
There are spinal facet joints that have cartilage to allow the discs to slide against each other so that you can twist and turn, and these can be negatively impacted by arthritis, which can cause back and neck pain. Many arthritis remedies have been reported here, with Borax being a very popular remedy.
Since nerves are involved with the spine, they can become damaged or compressed when the discs develop ruptures or bulges, allowing pressure to be placed on the nerves, which can cause pain wherever the affected nerve or nerves travel. So, a compressed spine nerve can cause pain in a remote area such as a shoulder, leg, hand, elbow, or foot. The nerves can also be damaged through other means, such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, or chemotherapy. This type of damage is generally referred to as peripheral neuropathy (PN). I have previously written about remedies for PN here:
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/five-supplements-for-peripheral-neuropathy.html
Spinal cord injury (SCI) can also be another issue, and this usually occurs through a traumatic event such as an auto accident or a severe fall. The amount of damage can vary significantly, as can the effects of the damage. In severe damage, mobility may be possible only through a mechanical device such as a wheelchair, and surgery may also be an option in some cases, but in less severe damage, it may be possible to improve spinal function through physical therapy and exercise.
So you can see how the spine is capable of causing a myriad of health issues, inflammation, oxidative stress, and pain whenever any of its components become compromised or damaged, and this can result in acute severe pain or chronic pain since these spinal components tend to wear with age. It can be said that the older we get, the greater the chance for us to experience various forms of back pain, stiffness, reduced range of motion, and immobility. Back problems affect roughly 80% of Americans at least one or more times during the year, and that is a lot of people with back problems. The most common locations for this pain are in the lumbar or lower back and the cervical spine or neck areas. Two often used remedies for pain in these areas are heat to help relax tight muscles and cryotherapy, such as ice packs to relieve inflammation, swelling, and, ultimately, the pain.
The following study suggests that melatonin can ameliorate damaging ferroptosis, iron overload, nucleus pulpous cell injury, oxidative stress, and inflammation while increasing total antioxidant capacity, and these effects combine to help prevent intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10424295/
Here is a relevant study quote :
' This study demonstrated that CM from the LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages promoted the NP cell injury. MLT alleviated the CM-induced NP cell injury partly through inhibiting ferroptosis. The findings support the role of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of IDD, and suggest that MLT may serve as a potential therapeutic approach for clinical treatment of IDD. '
When it comes to IDD, melatonin can do the following :
Osteoporosis occurs much more frequently in women than men, but men still get osteopenia and osteoporosis.
Through its multiple methods of action, melatonin has shown that it has the potential to ameliorate or prevent osteoporosis, and since the spine has bone, it can also suffer the bone-weakening effects of osteoporosis and become subject to fracture and breakage :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9585202/
Here is a relevant quote from the review :
' As an alternative drug for osteoporosis, melatonin can improve the gut ecology, remodel microbiota composition, regulate substance absorption and maintain metabolic balance, all of which are beneficial to the health of bone structure. In conclusion, our review systematically demonstrates the effects of melatonin on bone metabolism. Based on the evidence in this review, melatonin will play a more important role in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. '
Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine in adolescents that tends to worsen with age in terms of the degree of curvature of the spine. Generally, surgery is the potential remedy after an excessive degree of spinal curvature is reached. Studies for scoliosis are currently at the animal level, and results have shown that melatonin has the ability to reduce the potential for scoliosis spinal curvature while improving bone integrity. This study also suggests that melatonin deficiency may be a contributing factor for AIS, and correction of that deficiency may help prevent or treat scoliosis as discussed in the following study :
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42467-5
Here is a relevant study quote :
' The trabecular bone quality of the vertebral body was significantly ameliorated in the melatonin-treated bipedal models. Likewise, the number of osteoclasts was significantly less in those treated with melatonin. Our results indicated that melatonin deficiency may be crucial for scoliotic development, and restoration of melatonin levels can prevent scoliotic development with the improvement in bone density. '
Osteoarthritis (OA) can cause erosion of the facet joint cartilage and result in very significant back pain. In the following study, it is suggested that melatonin, through multiple methods of action, can help to ameliorate the damage to cartilage and joints caused by OA :
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1568163722000770
Here is a relevant study quote :
' Notably, melatonin has been associated with amelioration of oxidative damage by restoring the OA-impaired intracellular antioxidant defense system in articular cartilage. Findings from preliminary application of melatonin or melatonin-loaded biomaterials in animal models have affirmed its potential anti-arthritic effects. Herein, we summarize the anti-arthritic effects of melatonin on OA cartilage and demonstrate that melatonin has potential therapeutic efficacy in treating OA. '
The following new review article (August 2023) goes into a lengthy description of how melatonin uses its potent antioxidant effects to significantly reduce a hallmark indicator in SCI, oxidative stress, as well as acting as a potent oxygen radical scavenger itself to promote healing :
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2023.1218553/full
Here is a relevant review quote :
' This review outlines the application of melatonin in SCI, including 1) the relationship between the melatonin rhythm and SCI in clinic; 2) the neuroprotective role of melatonin in experimental traumatic and ischemia/reperfusion SCI, i.e., exhibiting anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptosis effects, facilitating the integrity of the blood–spinal cord barrier, ameliorating edema, preventing neural death, reducing scar formation, and promoting axon regeneration and neuroplasticity; 3) protecting gut microbiota and peripheral organs; 4) synergizing with drugs, rehabilitation training, stem cell therapy, and biomedical material engineering; and 5) the potential side effects. This comprehensive review provides new insights on melatonin as a natural antioxidant therapy in facilitating rehabilitation in SCI. '
Melatonin has also shown the ability to help fractures heal via its potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects, as discussed here :
Here is a relevant quote from the review article :
' Melatonin can protect MSCs (Mesenchymal Stem Cells) against oxidation-induced apoptosis by reducing ROS production, enhancing cell viability and promoting continued differentiation. Melatonin can increase solute carrier family 39 member 1 expression, activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/ERK pathway, increase phosphorylated-ERK1/2/5 levels and significantly inhibit the production of ROS; moreover, zinc uptake in cells is increased. All the above-mentioned processes can inhibit cell apoptosis . In addition, melatonin is beneficial for the inhibition of oxygen free radical activity during fracture healing and the regulation of antioxidant enzyme activity, which promotes fracture healing. In a previous study, it was observed that in contrast to the fracture group, more bone binding was observed in the melatonin treatment fracture group at the same healing time (28 days after the fracture). '
Another common spine-related issue is SNI, and melatonin has in recent years shown itself to speed the healing process of SNI, again through its multiple methods of action as described in the following March 2023 research article :
Here is an important quote from the review :
' Melatonin treatment can markedly increase the number of axons and thickness of myelin sheath in rat models of sciatic nerve injury. And structural protection of the myelin lamellae can be preserved following repeated low dosage of melatonin administration. Even a single injection of high-dose melatonin can act to protect myelin sheath, prevent axonal loss, and accelerate functional recovery of the injured sciatic nerve. '
So here you can clearly see that melatonin offers multiple benefits for the spine that most doctors will never mention to their patients, but given the very good safety profile of melatonin and the limited scope of treatments and invasiveness of some of those treatments for spinal injuries, why wouldn't your doctor at least mention the adjunctive melatonin option to you.
The simple answer is to supplement with melatonin, but since some people do not tolerate melatonin, supplementing may not work for everyone. So, a free option for getting melatonin with no side effects associated with supplemental melatonin is to let your back face the earlier morning and later afternoon sun. The red and infrared light from the sun can increase melatonin production and can also be helpful for sleep. What if the weather is not conducive to getting sun exposure? Another option is to use a red light/infrared light mat that you can lay on your back daily for the amount of time recommended by the manufacturer. This has also been shown to promote melatonin production and can be used daily all year or at least when outside sun exposure is impractical. Infrared light from the sun does not seem to penetrate glass very well at all, but it does seem to penetrate clothing.
Another possibility that two of my friends are currently self-testing is topically applied melatonin. One friend has pain in the lower neck while the other friend has lower back pain that is very troublesome for both, and it is having a negative impact on their posture as well as generating very significant and nagging pain. Their initial results appear to be quite promising, but it is very early days and too early to say that the effects will be long-lasting and that is the idea to have long-lasting benefits. These two friends said they would keep me updated with their results. I have another friend who plans to test topical melatonin in one month who has both significant back and neck pain issues. I will report on their results if they show longer-term beneficial effects.
On the downside, my previous experience with topical melatonin is that it definitely traverses the skin and dermal layers and enters into the blood, and studies confirm that it ultimately will reach the blood and go into the general circulation and as such, people who do not tolerate melatonin well may not do well with topical melatonin either. In any case, they are both using a relatively high dose topical application of melatonin and both reported significant benefit within the first week of use with reduced pain and no high pain level occurrences, which were previously regular events for both of them. If their testing continues to improve, I will write about their experiences with topical melatonin.
Topical melatonin is likely allowing them to achieve higher local tissue melatonin levels than can be achieved by even the highest dose of oral melatonin, and it is being applied right where it is needed most.
Melatonin, in multiple studies, has shown beneficial effects for some spinal issues that are quite common in the general public. Melatonin will not likely be helpful for all spinal problems, but for the ones I listed above, beneficial effects seem likely based on the listed studies and others that I have read. Melatonin can be obtained via an oral supplement, morning and afternoon sun exposure, red light therapy (RLT), and topical application.
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