Congratulations to Dr. Laura Stone and co-investigators Drs. Lisbet Haglung and Magali Millecamps. They were awarded a five year CIHR operating grant of $155 550 per year to conduct their research titled Low back pain: From mechanism to therapeutic intervention. Chronic low back pain (LBP) is debilitating and difficult to treat. A major contributor to LBP is degeneration of the intervertebral discs (IVDs) in the spine. In order to improve therapeutic outcome and quality of life for people with chronic pain, an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying LBP and disc degeneration is needed. With the support of CIHR, the team will perform a combination of pre-clinical and human studies investigating: a) the normal development of disc degeneration-related low back pain, b) biochemical characteristics of painful discs, c) the pain-relieving effect of drugs that target painful discs and d) the role of non-pharmacological, lifestyle-based interventions such as physical activity on low back pain and disc degeneration.
