Chronic pain is usually defined as any persistent or intermittent pain that lasts more than 3 months, which can be categorized along a variety of dimensions, including one of the most important divisions, neuropathic versus nociceptive pain. Neuropathic pain is induced by a lesion or disease involving the nervous system, and nociceptive pain occurs as a consequence of actual or threatened damage to nonneural tissue.

Chronic pain is a major public health problem, with epidemiological studies reporting that in the USA and Europe, approximately one fifth of the general population are affected. Additionally, as one of the most common and disabling mental disorders, depression has been reported to be the third leading contributor to the global disease burden. Clinical studies have revealed that chronic pain, as a stress state, often induced depression and that up to 85% of patients with chronic pain are affected by severe depression. Patients suffering from chronic pain-induced depression exhibit a poorer prognosis than those with chronic pain only; and chronic pain and depression are closely correlated in terms of occurrence and development and are able to mutually promote their own severity progress.

To date, neither the corresponding pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic pain and depression nor their mutual correlation has been identified, which poses a huge challenge for the treatment of pain accompanied by depression. However, in recent years, studies have revealed considerable overlaps between pain- and depression-induced neuroplasticity changes and neurobiological mechanism changes. Such overlaps are vital to facilitating the occurrence and development of chronic pain-induced depression. In particular, injury sensory pathways of body pains have been shown to share the same brain regions involved in mood management, including the insular cortex, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala, which form a histological structural foundation for the coexistence of pain and depression.

A chiropractic doctor is an excellent person to consult when you are experiencing depression, especially if you are unsure what is causing your symptoms. The chiropractor will give a thorough examination and will hopefully find places within the spine that could benefit from manipulation. Adjustments to certain part of the body will allow blood to flow more freely and can relax the muscles. This stress relief can be quite therapeutic for those with depression.

Some people with depression may find that imbalances within their body were contributing to their symptoms. If spinal vertebrae are out of place, it can place pressure on the surrounding nerves. Since the nervous system circulates throughout our bodies, a blocked nerve in the lower back can actually affect all sorts of places in the body. Once a chiropractor has identified a problem area, symptoms can often be alleviated after one adjustment. The chiropractor will recommend a regimen that will more than likely include regular visits and perhaps other related treatments such as massage.

People who suffer from depression that are considering trying chiropractic should also consult their primary care physician and therapist if they have one. When approaching an illness such as depression, a multidisciplinary approach can often be the most effective. Studies have shown that certain people respond better to different treatments, so adding chiropractic into the list of options will allow more people than ever to find relief from depression-related symptoms, many of which can be severely debilitating.

Chiropractic care as part of the healthcare team can play an important role in the assessment and management of chronic pain related to depression condition. More and more studies are providing evidence of effective relief of chronic pain and depression through chiropractic treatment.

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