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Exercise may produce positive effects on intervertebral discs

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Helena Brisby

A study from Sahlgrenska Academy in the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has shown that physical exercise can have a positive impact on the formation of cells in the intervertebral discs.

“This is new knowledge showing that the intervertebral discs can be positively affected by physical activity,” study author Helena Brisby, MD, PhD, stated in a release. The findings were presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine.

Brisby and colleagues exposed 12 rats to 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) during a span of 14 days to aid the detection of proliferating cells in the intervertebral discs. Six of the rats then ran on a treadmill for 50 minutes a day, 5 days a week. The other six rats did not undergo any exercise, and served as controls.

At the 14-day and 56-day marks following the start of the exercise protocol, the team performed anti-BrdU antibody immunohistochemical analysis. This involved counting BrdU-positive cells in the inner annulus fibrous area (AF), the AF border to ligament (AFo), the stem cell niche area (SN) — part of the perichondrium region (P) — and the peripheral region of epiphyseal cartilage (pEC).

“The cell number of BrdU positive cells in AFo, SN and P region were significantly increased in the exercise group at day 14 as compared to control,” the authors concluded, adding they found no significant differences between the cohorts with regards to positive cell numbers in the AF and pEC regions at the 14-day or 56-day marks.

Based on the results of the study, the team intends to study whether the cells in degenerated discs respond as positively to exercise as normal discs. The researcher hope the continued studies will establish whether exercise can prevent disc degeneration and consequently prevent back pain.

Reference:

• Nobuyuki S, Henriksson HB, Runesson E, et al. Physical exercise affects cell proliferation in lumbar intervertebral disc regions in rats. Paper #GP179. Presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. June 14-18. Gothenburg, Sweden.

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