Nov. 16, 2022 – Pain is how our bodies tell us something’s wrong, alerting us to injury or infection and helping doctors make a diagnosis. But pain is not fun, so we often try to block it using medication.
But a surprising new study led by Harvard Medical School researchers suggests that blocking acute pain may actually lead to pain in the gut.
That’s because pain may be a key part of a process that protects the gut from damage.
In the study, pain neurons in mice helped regulate the protective mucus that lines the gut, releasing more mucus in response to inflammation.
“These…
