Gut bacteria determines how much pain you feel

the bacteria in our guts have been linked to everything from risk of weight gain to disease, now it seems they play a role in how much pain we feel, too.

Scientists at University College Cork have found that mice bred without microbes in their gut are more sensitive to visceral pain (pain originating from the body’s organs). they also had changes in the genes in their spinal cord — which helps relay pain signals. however, when these mice were given gut bacteria these changes were reversed.

the researchers believe their findings, published in the journal eLife, support the idea that bacteria may help treat the pain of conditions such as iBS.