Effects of Nutritional Interventions in the Control of Musculoskeletal Pain: An Integrative Review

Abstract

Food consumption has significant positive effects on an individual’s health status, including the reduction of symptoms associated with musculoskeletal pain. However, specific food groups indicated for the treatment of pain are not yet determined. Hence, this review aimed to analyze the effects of nutritional interventions with specific diets, oils and/or fatty acids, and foodstuffs in natura in the reduction of musculoskeletal pain. An integrative review was conducted in the following databases: Embase, PubMed, LILACS, and Google Scholar. Clinical trials written in English, Spanish, and Portuguese and published between 2000 and March 2020 were included in this review. Seventeen studies were included. Among these, a reduction of musculoskeletal pain with different types of nutritional interventions, such as vegan and Mediterranean diets and the consumption of blueberry, strawberry, passion fruit peel extract, argan oil, fish oil (omega-3), olive oil, and undenatured type II collagen and vitamin D gel capsules, was observed in 14 studies. Eight studies evaluated the profiles of several inflammatory markers, and of these, decreased interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels were observed in two studies. This review suggests that different nutritional interventions with specific diets, oils and/or fatty acids, and foodstuffs in natura reduce musculoskeletal pain, specifically in adults with osteoarthritis. Besides pain improvement, nutritional interventions, including the consumption of strawberry and vitamin D gel capsules, decrease the levels of several inflammatory markers.

Diet, body weight and pain susceptibility – A systematic review of preclinical studies

“…In the same line, alterations in nociception and pain susceptibility were observed in the absence of weight gain (e.g. Song et al, 2017 ) indicating that the diet itself can have an impact – see for review ( Elma et al, 2020 , Mendonça et al, 2020 , Totsch et al, 2015 ). One study in mice even showed a positive association between HFD duration and longer recovery periods to basal pain thresholds after diet normalization ( Guillemot-Legris et al, 2018 ).…”

Dietary Habits and Musculoskeletal Pain in Statin and Red Yeast Rice Users: A Pilot Study

“…In addition to fruit juices, particularly grapefruit juice known to inhibit CYP3A4 by reducing the metabolism of simvastatin, lovastatin and atorvastatin [14,15], tea flavanols can interfere with the pharmacokinetics of drugs in humans, by interaction with CYP3A4 and with phase III transporters of the drug detoxifying system, mainly the multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) [51], OAT [17,51], and organic cation transporters (OCT) [51]. However, the consumption of fruits and vegetables [52,53], rich in antioxidant flavonoids, as well as Med-D and physical activity [53], can reduce musculoskeletal pain. Med-D can reduce chronic pain [54], and a high adherence to the Med-D was associated with pain improvement in older adults recruited in the Seniors-ENRICA-1 and Seniors-ENRICA-2 cohorts [55].…”

Reduction in Pain and Pain Intensity with Nonpharmacological Treatment in Severely Obese Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Nutritional interventions may have effects in reducing chronic musculoskeletal pain, reducing comorbidities—such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases—and, thus, reducing health costs [ 10 , 11 ]. It is important to highlight that there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of diet therapy for people with chronic pain, and on the barriers to its implementation in clinical practice.…”

“…In this context, the daily consumption of certain foods—such as fruits, vegetables, yogurt, red wine, and extra-virgin olive oil—can modulate pain [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Many of these food items are included in the traditional Brazilian diet (DieTBra), such as rice, beans, fruits, and vegetables [ 12 ].…”