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 crucial 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 influences your health in ways science is only beginning to understand. Think of it as a living ecosystem inside you: when it's diverse and balanced, it keeps your body functioning smoothly. When it's thrown off — a state scientists call dysbiosis — problems can flow 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 control your immune system, intestinal barrier, and inflammation levels throughout the body. (1) Chiropractic care at Old Mill Chiropractic is all about balance and lowering inflammation and pain.
HOW DIET DRIVES INFLAMMATION — AND PAIN
Of all the things that shape your gut microbiota, nothing has more daily impact than the food on your plate. Research by Toydemir and Merey (2026) shows that diets high in fat and sugar drive a process called metabolic endotoxemia — where harmful bacterial byproducts leak into the bloodstream and activate low-grade, body-wide inflammation. (2) But that inflammation doesn't stay where it began. It impacts your muscles, joints, and spinal tissues, making pain harder to resolve. On the other hand, fibre-rich, plant-based diets nourish beneficial bacteria that produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) — including butyrate — which act as powerful anti-inflammatory signals in the body. (1,2) We can talk more at your next visit to Old Mill Chiropractic about butyrate.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR RECOVERY
Spinal car with chiorpractic addresses one 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 system your spine heals in.
CONTACT Old Mill Chiropractic
Your gut and your back are more connected than you think. Check out this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he discusses the connection of the immune system and chiropractic care with a bit of emphasis on The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
