Chronic Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most widespread health issues globally, affecting people across all age groups and putting significant strain on healthcare systems. For many, the pain becomes long-lasting, disrupting work, sleep, and everyday life. In most cases, however, doctors cannot pinpoint a clear structural cause, which makes effective long-term treatment challenging.
Chronic Lower back pain is one problem that is affecting the lives of millions in India, irrespective of age groups.
The rate of prevalence of this disease may range between 18% to 80%. The cases are only rising, as a 2025 study shows a massive 70% increase in back pain issues over the next five years.
Chronic back pain is often linked to the deterioration of spinal discs and vertebral end plates, which are the thin layers of tissue separating the discs from the vertebrae, according to medical sources.
When these break down, they become porous, allowing nerves that aren’t usually impacted to enter the spinal center, leading to frequent discomfort.
A new study published in Volume 14 of the journal Bone Research suggests that a hormone-based treatment could help ease chronic back pain by reducing abnormal nerve growth within damaged spinal tissue. The research was led by Dr. Janet L. Crane from the Center for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States. The findings offer new insight into how bone cells may influence pain signaling in degenerating spines.
“During spinal degeneration, pain-sensing nerves grow into regions where they normally do not exist. Our findings show that parathyroid hormone can reverse this process by activating natural signals that push these nerves away,” Crane said in a press release.
Synthetic versions of PTH are already used to treat osteoporosis. Earlier research hinted that these treatments might also reduce bone-related pain, but the underlying biological mechanism was not well understood.
Using animal models, the Johns Hopkins researchers found that one to two months of PTH treatment led to denser, more stable vertebral endplates.
More significantly, the treatment triggered bone-building cells, known as osteoblasts, to produce a protein called Slit3, the study detailed.
The study found that this protein repels growing nerve fibers, preventing them from infiltrating sensitive regions of the spine.
When the researchers removed Slit3 from mice, the hormone’s pain-relieving effects disappeared, confirming the protein’s critical role in the process.
“Our study suggests that PTH treatment of [lower back pain] during spinal degeneration may reduce aberrant innervation (abnormal nerve growth),” Crane concluded.
The doctor said this research lays the foundation for future clinical trials that will explore PTH’s effectiveness as a disease-modifying and pain-relieving treatment for spinal degeneration.
Researchers noted several limitations, including the possibility that PTH treatment could affect the central nervous system in ways not fully explored in this study.
Because the study focused specifically on the Slit3 protein, further research is needed to determine how other genetic factors and bone-forming processes might influence spinal nerve growth and pain relief.