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Backache? Blame your genes
Sunday September 23, 2012 08:07:38 PM,
IANS
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London: If you suffer
chronic lower backache, then blame your genes, not the lumbar disc
generation (LDD) that has long been suspected of being its prime
cause, say experts.
These discs, which cushion the vertebrae or the backbone, can end
up getting squashed and bulging out. Bony growths can also emerge
from the spinal column itself and trigger backache.
A team led by Frances Williams, genetic epidemiologist at King's
College London, has found a new gene implicated in back
degeneration called PARK2, which could potentially open the way to
new treatments.
They discovered it by looking for signs of LDD in back scans of
4,600 people, and then sifting their entire genomes for clues.
"The impact of hereditary (genetic) factors on LDD is remarkably
high. In the 70s and 80s the Scandinavians spent millions looking
for all the occupations which caused back pain (sic), but they
couldn't find them," said Williams, the Telegraph reports.
Studies of identical twins who went into different professions -
like truck driving and being a physical education teacher - showed
that both ended up with similarly bad lumbar disk degeneration in
later life.
"Actually, the main variation is caused by genetic factors," she
said.
However, the relationship between physical degeneration and
long-term (chronic) backache is complicated. "Everybody gets LDD
at some point, it's like going grey. But not everybody gets back
pain (sic)," Williams said.
Those with more serious physical degeneration are more likely to
get chronic backache, but plenty of those whose LDD looks bad feel
fine, and vice-versa.
Williams said genetic studies did not claim to reveal the whole
picture, and said people should still take care of their general
health to minimise the chance of backache, in particular avoiding
smoking and piling on the pounds.
"Sitting up straight and exercising won't change the way your
discs change, but they might help you develop good muscular
strength to keep a pain-free spine and back," Williams said.
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