In an article written by Carol Torgan, Ph.D., she discussed research around infection and pain.[1] Researchers have found that bacteria can directly stimulate sensory neurons to produce pain and suppress inflammation. The finding may lead to better treatments for painful bacterial infections. A tooth abscess, urinary tract infection, or other type of bacterial infection can cause intense pain. The pain is often accompanied by inflammation, which is produced by the immune system’s attack on the bacteria. It’s been thought that pain stems from immune cells, which release cytokines and growth factors that can induce inflammation and trigger sensory nerves.
A team led by Drs. Isaac M. Chiu and Clifford J. Woolf at Boston Children’s Hospital sought to better understand the pain caused by bacterial infections. Their research was funded by NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
“We found that major parts of the immune system are not necessary for pain during infection, but that bacteria themselves are the source of much of the pain,” Chiu says. “If we could block pain in infected tissues and also block what pain neurons do to the immune system, it could help us treat bacterial infections better.”
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/bacteria-trigger-nerve-cells-cause-pain
How will light therapy help provide pain relief from infections?
Photizo Pain Relief light therapy alleviates pain and inflammation and will help to:
- Reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines and increase anti-inflammatory cytokines
- Reduce inflammation by modulating inflammatory cells
- Reduce oxidative stress
- Improve drainage of the lymphatic vessels
- Increase quality sleep.
[1] https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/bacteria-trigger-nerve-cells-cause-pain
