Prolonged Fasting Reduced Pain Intensity in Chronic Pain Patients, Including Low Back Pain: What the Research Shows

Prolonged Fasting Reduced Pain Intensity in Chronic Pain Patients, Including Low Back Pain: What the Research Shows

Medical disclaimer: This article summarises published research for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for guidance from a qualified health professional. Always consult your doctor before starting any fasting protocol, especially if you have an existing health condition or take medication.

Study at a Glance

What This Study Looked At

Researchers at a German integrative medicine clinic wanted to know what happens to pain levels and stress hormones when patients with chronic pain conditions — including chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia — undergo a short period of prolonged, medically supervised fasting. It's one of the earlier clinical looks at whether extended fasting (as opposed to daily time-restricted eating) has a measurable effect on how much pain people report day to day. For a broader look at fasting and pain in women specifically, see intermittent fasting and joint pain in women.

Who Was Studied

Participant profile: Adults hospitalized for treatment of chronic pain syndromes, including chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, and osteoarthritis. Most had lived with pain for years and had tried multiple conventional treatments already.

How the fasting protocol worked in this study: Participants followed a modified fast for 7 days — very low calorie intake (herbal teas, vegetable broth, and small amounts of juice) rather than a strict zero-calorie water fast — administered and monitored in a hospital setting. Pain intensity and mood were tracked daily, alongside blood measurements of stress and pain-related hormones including cortisol and beta-endorphin.

What the Researchers Found

Pain Intensity

• Patients reported a meaningful, statistically significant drop in pain intensity by the end of the week-long fast.
• The improvement in pain tracked alongside rises in cortisol and beta-endorphin, the body's natural opioid-like pain-modulating hormone, suggesting a possible neuroendocrine mechanism behind the effect.
• Mood and general wellbeing scores improved in parallel with the pain reduction.

What Did Not Change

• The study did not include a non-fasting control group, so it cannot rule out that some of the improvement came from the hospital setting, rest, or attention from clinical staff rather than the fast itself.
• Long-term follow-up after patients returned to normal eating was limited, so how long the pain relief lasted is unclear from this study alone.

What the Researchers Concluded

The researchers concluded that short-term fasting produced a measurable reduction in pain intensity in this patient group, accompanied by changes in stress and pain-related hormones, and suggested fasting may be a useful adjunct therapy for chronic pain conditions worth further controlled study.

What This Means If You Fast

• This was prolonged fasting, not intermittent fasting. A 7-day supervised fast is a very different intervention from a daily 16:8 eating window — don't assume the same pain-relief effect applies to short daily fasts.
• Medical supervision mattered here. Multi-day fasting, especially for people managing chronic pain and possibly taking medication, should only be attempted with a doctor's involvement.
• The hormone data is interesting but not proof of mechanism. Beta-endorphin and cortisol both rose alongside the pain improvement, but this study cannot prove one caused the other.
• If you have chronic low back pain, this is one small, dated, uncontrolled study — not strong enough evidence to base treatment decisions on. It's a signal worth further research, not a conclusion. For general fasting-and-inflammation context, see intermittent fasting and inflammation.
• Don't stop conventional pain treatment based on this study. Talk to your doctor before making any changes to how you manage chronic pain.

Study Limitations

• No control group — improvements cannot be cleanly separated from hospitalization, rest, or attention effects.
• Small, single-site sample from one clinic in Germany.
• Mixed diagnoses (low back pain, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis) grouped together rather than analyzed separately.
• Short follow-up after the fasting period ended.
• This is an older study (2003) and has not been replicated with a modern randomized design.
• This summary was written from model training knowledge because PubMed access was unavailable at generation time; exact statistics should be verified against the original paper before being cited elsewhere.

Source

Michalsen A, Schneider S, Rodenbeck A, Lüdtke R, Huether G, Dobos GJ. The short-term effects of fasting on the neuroendocrine system in patients with chronic pain syndromes. Nutritional Neuroscience. 2003. PMID: 12608732

Frequently Asked Questions

Does fasting help with chronic lower back pain?

This one small, uncontrolled study found that patients with chronic pain, including chronic low back pain, reported significantly less pain after a 7-day supervised fast. It's a promising early signal, not proven treatment.

Is this the same as intermittent fasting like 16:8?

No. This study used a 7-day, medically supervised, near-continuous fast — a much more intensive intervention than daily time-restricted eating windows like 16:8 or 18:6.

Why would fasting reduce pain?

The researchers observed that pain relief coincided with rising levels of beta-endorphin, a natural pain-modulating hormone, and cortisol. This is a proposed mechanism, not a confirmed one, since the study didn't include a control group.

Is it safe to fast for a week to try to relieve chronic pain?

Multi-day fasting carries real risks and should only be attempted under medical supervision, particularly for anyone with an underlying health condition or taking medication.

Should I try fasting instead of my current pain treatment?

No. This study does not support replacing conventional pain management with fasting. Talk to your doctor before making any changes.

Related Research and Articles

• Intermittent fasting and joint pain in women
• Fasting and inflammation: what women should know
• Water fasting for women: a step-by-step guide
• 36-hour fasting for women: risks, benefits, and who should try it
• Intermittent fasting and autoimmune conditions in women

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