Your Gut Could Be Fuelling Your Back Pain And a Little-Known Compound Called Butyrate May Be a Key
You've tried the stretches, the adjustments, the rest — but if you haven't thought about your gut and its microbiome, you may be missing a key piece of your back pain puzzle.
WHAT IS THE GUT MICROBIOME?
Deep inside your digestive system lives a hidden world — trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses collectively known as your gut microbiota. Their mutual genetic blueprint is called the microbiome, and it impacts your health in ways science is only beginning to understand. Think of it as a rainforest inside you — the more diverse it is, the more in good health you are. When it's thrown off — a state scientists call dysbiosis — problems can ripple throughout the body. According to Hernández-Valles et al. (2026), this microbial ecosystem acts as an integrated metabolic system, transforming what you eat into active compounds that synchronize your immune system, intestinal barrier, and inflammation levels throughout the body. (1) Chiropractic care at Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is all about balance and reducing inflammatory activity and pain.
HOW DIET DRIVES INFLAMMATION — AND PAIN
Your fork is one of the most potent tools you have for forming the microbial community living inside you. Research by Toydemir and Merey (2026) shows that diets high in fat and sugar push a process called metabolic endotoxemia — where harmful bacterial byproducts leak into the bloodstream and trigger low-grade, body-wide inflammation. (2) That inflammation doesn't stay in your gut. It affects your muscles, joints, and spinal tissues, making pain harder to resolve. On the other hand, fibre-rich, plant-based diets feed beneficial bacteria that produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) — including butyrate — which act as powerful anti-inflammatory indicators in the body. (1,2) We can talk more at your next visit to Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation about butyrate.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR RECOVERY
Chiropractic care really works well on the structural side of your pain. But if your diet is quietly fuelling inflammation from within, recovery takes longer than it should. Prioritizing vegetables, legumes, wholegrains, and fermented foods as part of supporting a healthy microbiome isn't just good general health advice — it's directly supporting the biological environment your spine heals in.
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Your gut and your back are more linked than you think. Check out this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he discusses the link between the immune system and chiropractic care with a bit of emphasis on The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
