How Does Collagen Help With Back Pain?
Everyone is looking for a supplement to help them with back pain and while supplements can help, before we start talking about how collagen would help your back pain, we want to point out that you must be doing some robust strengthening work to get the maximum benefits from any supplementation for healing!
What It Collagen & How Can It Help Your Back Pain
Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in the human body and it is found to have particular importance in areas like the skin, muscles, tendons, the cartilage of joints, and the spinal discs. Given that lumbar disc injuries, herniations and bulges, are some of the most common causes of back pain, if we could provide our body with the resources necessary to rebuilt this injured structure, surely we would want to! It’s worth also mentioning specifically, the cartilage in the facet joints is a type known as hyaline cartilage, this is like that in your knees and hip joints. Both have a heavy concentration of collagen specifically Type 2 collagen, in the region of 90% of the total collagen in these joints.
Essentially collagen is the glue that holds these structures together, and in areas like the skin and beauty products collagen is a popular supplement addition. From our members we hear of stories of increased thickness in their hair after routinely taking collagen for their back and joints, some of the ladies in particular have mentioned how they find this a positive and unexpected benefit.
The Types Of Collagen
Within the body there are three types of collagen, named 1, 2 & 3. Type 1 is most commonly found in the skin, tendons, cartilage and bone, Type 2 is found in the hyaline cartilage of our joints giving them their strength as well as inside the spinal discs providing cushioning for the spine. Finally Type 3 has a role in supporting your muscle and arterial health.
In the case of hyaline cartilage the collagen plays a vital role and as we age the body produces less of this. and thus our joints can begin to weaken as a result. Inflammation and injuries can inflame this process and reduce the quality and health of the joints further, the same issues arise in injuries to the discs in the lower back. It is therefore reasonably important that you spend time working to get the right amount of these essential nutrients in order to rebuild.
The extreme importance of this nutrient in the role of our healing cannot be understated, considering that back pain frequently involves the discs and facet joints, as well as surrounding ligaments, all of which require sufficient collagen to have normal healthy structure. This is why collagen is one of the few supplements we recommend to members of the Back In Shape Program.
Where Do We Get Collagen From In Our Diet?
When ti comes to dietary intake of collagen, the components, or specific collagen will come through eating animal products, the connective tissue from the cuts of meat we consume will contain various amounts and types of collagen, so chances are if you’re meeting your daily requirement of protein, then you will be getting enough collagen within that intake. Unfortunately collagen is not found in plants so for those who observe a diet free from animal products you will need to work around this and supplement in one way or other, we’ll talk about this a little more later on.
The Role Of Protein In Making Collagen
Collagen is a protein, and the most abundant one in the body at that, and like all proteins, it is formed of amino acids – the building blocks. The body uses the amino acids when breaking down our dietary protein in order to build the collagen our body needs. This is the route that will be taken if you’re following a diet avoiding animal based foods. So long as you’re getting the right amount of protein from your diet, your body will break down and rebuild the amino acids in the way that it requires.
We did a deep dive Podcast episode more recently on protein so if you want to figure out how much you should be getting to make sure you’re meeting your bodies needs, go and read or watch that episode next: The Best Food Supplement For Back Pain
You probably know that Vitamin C plays a role in building the collagen from these amino acids, one of these amino acids, Proline, which is required is found in good quantities in egg whites and dairy, as well as mushrooms and asparagus. The second Glycine is found in pork, chicken and gelatin. In order for the process to work copper is also an essential micronutrient which is found mostly in organ meats, as well as cashew nuts. In general providing your sourcing your protein from good types that are whole you will be getting a good supply of all the amino acids required for not just collagen production, but all the bodies many needs.
At this point it is worth pointing out, excess sugar and refined carbohydrates in general interferes with the body’s natural healing ability, so it stands to reason that avoiding these sorts of foods if your body is trying to heal is really important. Remodelling of an area that is injured can take time, and often the areas injured in the case of back pain are those with a relatively poor blood supply to begin with. Care should therefore be taken to avoid unnecessary activities, or foods which could further slow this process.
Healing takes time and although the pain can go sometimes faster than anticipated, the healing and rebuilding process often happens without the presence of pain, and therefore it can be tempting to rush back to certain activities before you’re ready. This can lead to setbacks and further damage to a structure that hadn’t completed healing for the first time!
Advice If You Have Back Pain
In order to get the best results, relief and long term recovery, supplements should be just that. While collagen is a vital ingredient, it will not be put to good work unless you’re following a strategy for rehabilitation. The right exercises and stretches at the right time allow your body to embrace the much needed nutrients and put that collagen to good work, strengthening and healing the discs and the injured tissues of the low back.
Building the muscles around the region further help protect the area while the remodelling and strengthening is taking place, a time when the pain might not be present anymore. Long term progressing with the right resistance based exercises, at home or in the gym, will enable your body to rebuild these structures that have been damaged or degenerated.
Some will be tempted to go down the route of spinal injections for back pain. This specific procedure has unintended consequences for ligaments and tendons in particular, weakening them. Knowing that this is the case, the role of adequate collagen intake could be considered even more important!
3 Ways We Can Help You
If you’ve been struggling with back pain yourself and need help then here are three suggestions to help you:
- Check out the full podcast on protein intake
- Check out the specific Collagen Supplement we recommend to our members here
- Check out the link below to find out more about becoming a Back In Shape Member
