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World J Exp Med. Jun 20, 2025; 15(2): 102969
Published online Jun 20, 2025. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v15.i2.102969
Integrative review of the gut microbiome’s role in pain management for orthopaedic conditions
Naveen Jeyaraman, Madhan Jeyaraman, Priya Dhanpal, Swaminathan Ramasubramanian, Arulkumar Nallakumarasamy, Sathish Muthu, Gabriel Silva Santos, Lucas Furtado da Fonseca, José Fábio Lana
Naveen Jeyaraman, Madhan Jeyaraman, Department of Orthopaedics, ACS Medical College and Hospital, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Chennai 600077, Tamil Nadu, India
Naveen Jeyaraman, Madhan Jeyaraman, Sathish Muthu, Department of Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Research Group, Coimbatore 641045, Tamil Nadu, India
Madhan Jeyaraman, Gabriel Silva Santos, Lucas Furtado da Fonseca, José Fábio Lana, Department of Orthopaedics, Brazilian Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Indaiatuba 13334-170, São Paulo, Brazil
Priya Dhanpal, Swaminathan Ramasubramanian, Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College, Omandurar Government Estate, Chennai 600002, Tamil Nadu, India
Arulkumar Nallakumarasamy, Department of Orthopaedics, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research–Karaikal, Puducherry 609602, India
Sathish Muthu, Central Research Laboratory, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research, Chennai 631552, Tamil Nadu, India
Co-first authors: Naveen Jeyaraman and Madhan Jeyaraman.
Author contributions: Jeyaraman M, and Jeyaraman N contributed to conceptualization; Ramasubramanian S contributed to acquiring clinical data and performing the data analysis; Jeyaraman N and Ramasubramanian S contributed to manuscript writing; Jeyaraman M, Santos GS, Fonseca LF, and Lana JF helped in manuscript revision; Nallakumarasamy A, Muthu S contributed for image acquisition; Jeyaraman M contributed to proofreading; Jeyaraman M and Lana JF contributed to administration. All authors have agreed to the final version to be published and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing this manuscript.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Madhan Jeyaraman, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, ACS Medical College and Hospital, Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Velappanchavadi, Chennai 600077, Tamil Nadu, India. madhanjeyaraman@gmail.com
Received: November 5, 2024
Revised: March 3, 2025
Accepted: April 1, 2025
Published online: June 20, 2025
Processing time: 163 Days and 21.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Modulating the gut microbiome may offer novel pain management strategies for orthopaedic conditions by reducing inflammation and influencing pain pathways through the gut-brain axis. Probiotics, prebiotics, dietary adjustments, and faecal microbiome transplantation show potential in controlling pain and limiting opioid dependence, though personalized approaches are crucial due to microbiome variability and the need for clinical validation.