Back pain can be inherited.

Study suggests that the role of genes in painful disorders of disk

February 4, 2011 - if you suffer from persistent pain low back, your genes can withstand some of the blame.

Like the color of the eyes and baldness, the probability to develop low back pain of disc disease may be inherited, shows a new study.

When the researchers analyzed data of family history and health for $ 2 million residents in Utah, they identified 1,264 with a diagnosis of lower spine associated with disc hernias or degenerative disease. Disc disease is one of the most frequent causes of persistent low back pain.

Those with a member of the immediate family, as a parent, a brother or a child, with lumbar pain related to disk were more than four times more likely to have the lumbar pain themselves.

More modest increase of risk have been associated with a second - or even a parent in the third degree with a diagnosis of disease of disk hernia or degenerative.

This conclusion was particularly relevant because these more distant relatives were less likely than parents in the first degree to share the same factors of environmental risks for lumbar pain.

"Even if not 100% conclusive, it is very strong evidence that there is a genetic component to the disc herniation and disc degeneration," researcher study Alpesh b. Patel, MD, of the University of Utah Salt Lake City school, medicine, tells WebMD. "."

Almost everyone knows sporadic back lifetime problems, but most of the people is improving with treatment shortly after a few days or weeks.

Patel, said it is common for the complaints of persistent back pain to run in families, but the reasons for this have not been clear.

"Patients with pain in the back often tell me that their Dad or my grandfather had it also, but it may be that they were in the same line of work or that he has played the same sport strong impact," he said.

Patel and his colleagues were able to track diseases related to low-back in families with a unique registry known as the Population base in Utah, which contains genealogical information of 2.4 million residents of the State and health.

A confusing back disease low disk is that some people with disks hernia or degenerating suffer pain atrocious and others only experience no pain at all.

In the study of the University of Utah, he appeared to be a genetic component to determine if the disk disease caused symptoms.

"We really can't say of this study if those who are genetically predisposed have more disk problems or if they live just more pain," says Patel.

A growing number of research suggests that the sensitivity to pain is inherited, although no pain actual genes have been identified, he added.

Back surgeon Daryll c. Dykes, MD, PhD, tells WebMD that he is not surprised by the findings of the study of Utah.

Dykes is a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and surgeon with the Centre of the backbone of twin cities in Minneapolis.

"We have strong suspicions that genes are a factor in low back pain, but we have not had good science that safeguard," he said.

He says that people with a family history of low back pain can reduce their risk to maintain a healthy weight, making cardiovascular and base building exercise and not smoking.