Is Back Pain Genetic?

Can we use a genetic test to see who will get back pain? If we do, can we prevent it? As early 21st-century medicine progresses, we will be confronted with these dilemmas. Has the first foray into this next step in diagnosis arrived?

Our Genes Tell Our Past, Present, and Future

Our genetic make-up can trace our history all the way back through our earliest ancestors. DNA ancestry testing is now easily available to anyone who wants to spit in a tube and mail it in. But DNA can also be used medically.

Each of us contains two copies of each gene; we get one from our mother and one from our father. These genes not only determine our physical make-up and tie us to our ancestors, but they also come preloaded with codes for future diseases, anything from heart disease to diabetes to cancer to mental illnesses, and more. How about back pain?

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Is Chronic Back Pain Genetic?

The new study was a huge meta-analysis that investigated the genetic association with chronic back pain. More specifically, they were looking for genetic markers that would indicate why some end up battling chronic back pain for months, years, or even the rest of their lives, while others fully recover after an acute episode of back pain.

So did they find that chronic back pain was genetic? Let’s look at the results. Three key genetic marker variants were identified as contributing to chronic back pain. These included variants in SOX5 (associated with cartilage defects and skeletal development), CCDC26/GSDMC (associated with disc herniation), and DCC (associated with spinal cord development). Researchers pointed out that these markers were also interconnected with osteoarthritis, disc degeneration, and disc herniation, for example, of which back pain can be a symptom.

What exactly do these findings mean? Just the presence of these genetic variants doesn’t mean that someone will get back pain, these just define risk. So should we intervene when we don’t know that patient will get back pain for sure?

What Else Our Genetics Can Tell Us About Disease

Genetic testing can reveal inherited genetic signatures that can tell us a lot about our risk for certain diseases. It can also find genetic similarities in certain types of disease to establish links for scientific study that will provide better ways to diagnose patients in the future. I’ve covered many of these on this blog in the past. Let’s take a look at a handful.

The upshot? These are just the first baby steps of figuring out how genetics will change our management of back pain. Lots still to be figured out!

Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile

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NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.

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