Pain and depression are closely related. Sometimes, depression causes unexplained physical symptoms — such as back pain or headaches. In other cases, depression may increase your response to pain, or at least increase the suffering associated with pain. Conversely, chronic pain is stressful and depressing in itself. Sometimes pain and depression create a vicious cycle.

Some research shows that pain and depression share common pathways in the emotional (limbic) region of the brain. In fact, the same chemical messengers control pain and mood. In addition, both chronic pain and depression are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. In some cases, antidepressants can reduce the perception of pain — as well as improve sleep and overall quality of life. Other types of mental health therapy can be helpful as well. Often, treatment involves both medical and mental health providers.

Unstated Assumptions

Patients who suffer from both back pain and depression work with their therapists and doctors to adopt a more active way of dealing with pain through exercise, work, and lifestyle changes.

DEPRESSION IS TREATABLE!

Unfortunately, only about 1/3 of those who are depressed actually get treatment

Evaluating Evidence

DEPRESSION IS TREATABLE!

Evaluating Evidence

...While up to 80-90% who do get treatment can feel better, usually within a few weeks!

Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.

Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.

Dr. Daniel Hall-Flavin, board certified in general psychiatry and addiction psychiatry, is a St. Louis native looking to the Internet as a way to help people improve their health and be more active participants in their own health care by learning from Mayo Clinic's experts. Dr. Hall-Flavin has been a member of the faculties of Cornell University Medical College, New York Medical College, and The George Washington University Medical School before joining the Mayo Clinic staff in 1996. He has special interests in adult psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and psychogenomics. He has served as medical director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence from 1986 to 1999.

While it's common for patients with chronic pain to suffer from clinical depression, it's a lesser-known medical fact that depression can also cause and exacerbate neck and back pain. This article chronicles the reasons behind back pain found in sufferers of clinical depression and examines some of the possible solutions.

It is recommended that patients who suffer from both back pain and depression work with their therapists and doctors to adopt a more active way of dealing with pain through exercise, work, and lifestyle changes.

The touted better recovery rates for patients who went through an individualized regimen that touted therapeutic pain management alongside anti-depressants and painkillers than those who dealt with the problem in the usual way--by popping pills and hoping they work."It is possible that pain improvement in our trial reflected a main effect of improved mood ... and that as depression lifts, patients may experience pain as being less intense and less disabling. Conversely, it is also possible that the improvement in depression was mediated by an improvement in pain ... or that both depression and pain lessened as a result of treatment effects on a common pathway," Kroenke wrote.

By eHow Contributing Writer

Dr. Kurt Kroenke, a doctor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, published a May 2009 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association

Refutation

Symptoms of Major Depression

Sadness, anxiety, or "empty" feelings Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down" Loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed,

including sex Insomnia, oversleeping, or waking much earlier than usual Loss of weight or appetite, or overeating and weight gain Feelings of hopelessness and pessimism Feelings of helplessness, guilt, and worthlessness Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts Difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or remembering Restlessness, irritability or excessive crying Chronic aches and pains or physical problems that do not respond

to treatment

source: National Institute of Health Publication No. 97-4266 and 99-3561