As I see it, the Gut-Brain Axis holds great potential for future treatment in pain management!
For one thing, many people with chronic pain also have depression. It is feasible that new ways to treat depression could emerge from better understanding of how the brain and gastrointestinal tract work together.
On a different level, in my recent post "Foods and Fibromyalgia: Know your enemies!" there is mention of leaky gut syndrome, a mysterious condition faced by some people with fibromyalgia. For certain, better understanding of the gut-brain axis will play a role in the management of this condition.
For those with auto-immune disorders, especially rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, there is reason for hope...as is better understood how the gut-brain is connected to the immune system. This may completely transform the approach to treatment of these conditions.
This might also mean that we could control the underlying disease of many pain conditions with dietary changes. Maybe I am dreaming big here, but for all who suffer chronic pain it would be a godsend.
As per yesterday's post, research suggests that the microbes in the gut play a role in all of this. For me, this suggests that for the time being it's wise to do all we can to optimize gut flora. Look for a post about this topic in the very near future!
Image: Wikimedia
For one thing, many people with chronic pain also have depression. It is feasible that new ways to treat depression could emerge from better understanding of how the brain and gastrointestinal tract work together.
On a different level, in my recent post "Foods and Fibromyalgia: Know your enemies!" there is mention of leaky gut syndrome, a mysterious condition faced by some people with fibromyalgia. For certain, better understanding of the gut-brain axis will play a role in the management of this condition.
For those with auto-immune disorders, especially rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, there is reason for hope...as is better understood how the gut-brain is connected to the immune system. This may completely transform the approach to treatment of these conditions.
This might also mean that we could control the underlying disease of many pain conditions with dietary changes. Maybe I am dreaming big here, but for all who suffer chronic pain it would be a godsend.
As per yesterday's post, research suggests that the microbes in the gut play a role in all of this. For me, this suggests that for the time being it's wise to do all we can to optimize gut flora. Look for a post about this topic in the very near future!
Image: Wikimedia
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