Back pain is the most common form of chronic pain. While the acute forms can be treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, their molecules could also be involved in the transition to persistent pain that is difficult to treat.
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Acute pain that can be treated with a analgesic to that which becomes persistent and resistant to drugs, there is a gray area which still eludes lights science. To make it clearer, an international team of researchers focused on chronic pain in the lower back. The study of this form of persistent pain, the most common, has led to the understanding that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such asibuprofen for example, could contribute to the persistence of pains.
The counterproductive effect of anti-inflammatories
Indeed, scientists have analyzed the range of mRNA produced, also called transcriptome, by the immune cells of the blood of 98 people suffering from pains in the lumbar region. The follow-up lasted three months during which some patients developed chronic pain. The transcriptome of patients with acute and resolved pain shows about 100 changes over the three months while that of patients with chronic pain remains constant. The transient responses of neutrophils seem to prevent the transition to chronic pain.
Experiments in mice suggest that reducing inflammation in the first place with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs promotes progression to chronic pain, despite their short-term analgesic effect. Additionally, analysis of data pooled in the UK Biobank indicates that people with acute back pain and treated with NSAIDs are more likely to develop chronic pain.
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