Is Your Microbiome Connected to Your Pain

We’re learning more, every day, about the role microbes play in our health. The largest and most diverse collection of microbes lives in our intestinal tract. They affect our immune system, appetite, digestion of food, how we store fat, and produce essential nutrients such as vitamin K. But our microbiome can also make us sick when it becomes unhealthy. Stress, whether emotional or physical, can affect it. An unhealthy gut can raise our risk for inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, allergies, and some cancers.  

Now, a new study suggests our microbiome can respond to pain. Pain from fibromyalgia, arthritis, and even migraines can change microbes in the gut.  In fact, the microbial “signature” of someone in pain was distinct enough that scientists could diagnose fibromyalgia and other pain conditions with 90 percent accuracy, just by looking at their gut bacteria. That’s helpful since fibromyalgia is tough to identify.  

What’s striking is when they transplanted a sample of the microbiome from a fibromyalgia patient into a healthy mouse, it began showing the same pain behaviors.  We already know that people with fibromyalgia who get fecal transplants of healthy microbiome experience relief. Why is this? One theory is the microbiomes of people in chronic pain don’t produce enough short-chain fatty acids.  

Could probiotics help? Maybe. What’s clear is a healthy gut plays a key role in preventing disease and maybe one day, it could help us control chronic pain.