Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Inflammatory Profiles of Patients With Acute and Chronic Pain

The pathogenesis of low back pain (LBP) remains unclear. However, recent studies suggest that the inflammatory response may be inherent in spinal pain. The purpose of this study was to discern inflammatory profiles in patients with nonspecific acute and chronic LBP in relation to those in asymptomatic individuals.

Peripheral blood samples were obtained from asymptomatic controls and patients with nonspecific acute and chronic LBP reporting a minimum pain score of 3 on a 10-point Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The levels of in vitro production of proinflammatory (tumor necrosis factor α [TNFα], interleukin [IL] 1β, IL-6, IL-2, interferon γ) and anti-inflammatory (IL-1 receptor antagonist, soluble receptors of TNF2, and IL-10) mediators were determined by specific immunoassays.

The mean VAS scores were comparable between the acute and chronic LBP patient groups. Compared with asymptomatic group, the production of TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6 and their ratios to IL-10 levels were significantly elevated in both patient groups (P=0.0001 to 0.003). In acute LBP group, the ratio of IL-2:IL-10 was also significantly increased (P=0.02). In contrast, the production of interferon γ was significantly reduced compared with the other study groups (P=0.005 to 0.01), nevertheless, it was positively correlated (P=0.006) with pain scores. In chronic LBP patients, the production of TNFα, IL-1 receptor antagonist, and soluble receptors of TNF2 was significantly increased (P=0.001 to 0.03) in comparison with the control and acute LBP groups, and TNFα and IL-1β levels were positively correlated (P<0.001) with VAS scores.

The inflammatory profiles of patients with acute and chronic LBP are distinct. Nonetheless, in both patient groups, an imbalance between proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediator levels favors the production of proinflammatory components.