What came first: the pain or the arthritis?

Along the lines of the "what came first, the chicken or the egg" question, researchers were wondering what came first: arthritis, which caused pain, or pain, which caused arthritis.

According to a study published in the most recent edition of the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism; pain signals originate in arthritic joints and are processed as they reach the spinal cord, where they worsen and expand arthritis. As well, the nerve pathways that carries the pain signals transfer inflammation from arthritic joints to the spine and back again, causing disease at both ends.

According to a press release issued by the University of Rochester Medical Center, "Technically, pain is a patient’s conscious realization of discomfort. Before that can happen, however, information must be carried along nerve cell pathways from say an injured knee to the pain processing centers in dorsal horns of the spinal cord, a process called nociception. The current study provides strong evidence that two-way, nociceptive "crosstalk" may first enable joint arthritis to transmit inflammation into the spinal cord and brain, and then to spread through the central nervous system (CNS) from one joint to another."

While this type of research may seem to be not too helpful for the general public, it is research like this that gives researchers something to work on, a goal to reach and a target for medications.

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Image: Newscom

Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, arhritis, pain process, nociceptive