Diet and Chronic Non-Cancer Pain: The State of the Art and Future Directions

Abstract

Nutrition plays an important role in pain management. Healthy eating patterns are associated with reduced systemic inflammation, as well as lower risk and severity of chronic non-cancer pain and associated comorbidities. The role of nutrition in chronic non-cancer pain management is an emerging field with increasing interest from clinicians and patients. Evidence from a number of recent systematic reviews shows that optimising diet quality and incorporating foods containing anti-inflammatory nutrients such as fruits, vegetables, long chain and monounsaturated fats, antioxidants, and fibre leads to reduction in pain severity and interference. This review describes the current state of the art and highlights why nutrition is critical within a person-centred approach to pain management. Recommendations are made to guide clinicians and highlight areas for future research.

The Association Between Dietary Energy Density and Musculoskeletal Pain in Adult Men and Women

“…Indeed, neuroglia cells commence neuro-inflammation in response to a poor diet which is full of energy dense foods like fats. The MPs may be affected by probable mechanisms such as oxidative stress, peripheral inflammation, and changes in the gut microbiome [ 26 ].…”

The Key Role of Lifestyle Factors in Perpetuating Chronic Pain: Towards Precision Pain Medicine

“…Diet is another key lifestyle factor that is gaining scientific momentum in relation to chronic pain (treatment) [ 15 , 16 ]. Indeed, evidence supporting the role of diet as a perpetuating factor of chronic pain is cumulating [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. This Special Issue contributes to this global move with several significant papers.…”

“…First, an original contribution reported a study of 2367 middle-aged and older adults, and found that low protein intake and lack of regular exercise are associated with high odds for low back pain in women [ 23 ]. In addition, a review describes the current state of the art regarding nutrition in patients with chronic (non-cancer) pain, highlighting why nutrition is critical within a person-centred approach to pain management, and providing recommendations to guide clinicians in doing so [ 17 ]. In addition, another review included in this Special Issue focusses on patients with post-cancer pain, and argues that diet/nutrition might be ready to transition from a cancer recurrence/prevention strategy towards a chronic pain management modality for cancer survivors [ 24 ].…”

Chronic Pain in Spanish Wildland Firefighters

“…The analysis of its prevalence among these workers might highlight the need to perform interventions aimed at preventing this condition. In this sense, the beneficial role of rehabilitation [18], physical exercise [19,20] and nutrition [21] on CP management has been evidenced. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse CP in Spanish WFFs and explore its potential association using demographic and occupational parameters.…”