Do Our Bodies Follow Familiar Paths?: A Hypothesis on Pain Pathways and Immunological Responses

In areas we know well, drivers often find themselves drifting onto familiar routes out of habit, sometimes ignoring the navigator’s directions—habit-formed, involuntary actions overriding new instructions and leading us along well-worn paths. In contrast, when driving through unfamiliar territory, we are more likely to pay close attention to the navigator and follow its guidance carefully, reaching our destination without incident. This contrast in behavior toward the familiar and the novel may offer insights into how our bodies respond to pain and new infections.

As a lay person, I wonder if our bodies, like drivers, tend to follow familiar routes– and whether this tendency could explain some patterns in pain and immune response. I will illustrate this idea with two examples: first, higher occurrence of fibromyalgia (FM) in women in their mid-40s compared to men; and second, children's unique immune response to SARS-CoV-2 compared to adults. 

Causes of fibromyalgia, whose main symptoms include heightened pain and hypersensitivity, have been suggested as stress or trauma in the past.1 2  The incidence in FM in males and females is 1 to 9; while numbers may vary, the gender difference is clear.3  This difference may be due to the effects of sex hormones (such as estrogen), which are also involved in conditions like premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression and premenopausal depression.4  Since their early teens to mid-40s, women have been exposed to the stress and “mini traumas” relating to hormonal cycles, which may “pave” a pain highway to hypersensitivity. Over time, these emotional ups and downs become familiar, almost like well-traveled highways. This is supported by the fact that, in a study involving 600 FM patients, the average age was 54 and 95% were women.5 6

Notably, the symptoms of PMS and FM overlap significantly, as shown in the following table. In this sense, fibromyalgia may represent a chronic and more pervasive form of symptoms often seen in PMS. 

-- Overlapping Symptoms between PMS and FM 7 8  -- 

Symptom                                          PMS   FM

Fatigue                                                 ✔ ✔

Muscle / joint pain                              ✔ ✔

Headache                                         ✔    ✔

Sleep disturbances                        ✔ ✔

Difficulty concentrating                      ✔ ✔

Depression / anxiety / mood swings ✔ ✔

Abdominal bloating / discomfort       ✔ ✔

Not only that, “70.7% of patients with menstrual disorder have fibromyalgia and 76.5% of fibromyalgia patients have myomas,” (whose causes are estrogen dominance).9 10 

Ultimately, high correlation of FM with estrogen suggests that the tendency toward familiarity translates into susceptibility in pain pathways, making individuals more prone to chronic pain as these pathways become reinforced over time.

In contrast, an example from children’s immunological responses highlights a situation where there are no familiar pathways for the body's navigator to follow. This raises an important question: Why do children seem less severely affected than adults when fighting SARS-CoV-2? Research suggests that the key difference lies not in the basic immune pathways themselves, but in the timing and efficiency of their responses. Unlike in FM, children's “inner navigator” can reach the destination more quickly, with little prior virus-related exposure. Prior experiences can distract or slow down the response; in children, the lack of such “familiar detours" allows their immune system to respond more directly and effectively, like a driver following a navigator on a new route, reaching the goal with fewer detours.11

As someone living with multiple, seemingly unrelated health issues—ranging from autoimmune conditions to fibromyalgia, histamine intolerance and estrogen-dominant disorders—I have come to believe that these are not isolated problems, but rather interconnected threads within the same tapestry. Yet, in my experience, the highly specialized nature of modern medicine often overlooks these connections, leaving patients like myself to piece together the bigger picture on our own. My hope is that sharing this lived experience can help inspire more holistic approaches in both research and clinical care.

In summary, I suggest that our bodies may, like our minds, develop “familiar paths” that influence how we experience pain or respond to new infections. This idea might help explain why some people become more sensitive to pain over time, or why children’s immune response can be more efficient against new viruses. I am not a medical expert, but I hope that sharing this perspective will encourage further research and discussion among professionals. Perhaps, by understanding how our bodies build and follow these “highways,” we can find new ways to prevent or treat chronic conditions.

Endnotes

1.  Wilbarger JL, Cook DB. Multisensory hypersensitivity in women with fibromyalgia: implications for well being and intervention. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Apr;92(4):653-6. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2010.10.029. PMID: 21440712; PMCID: PMC3272297.

2.  Beiner E, Hermes M, Reichert J, et al. Perceived and endocrine acute and chronic stress indicators in fibromyalgia syndrome. Sci Rep. 2024;14:30471. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-76635-z. (accessed 1 June 2025) 

3.  Bartels EM, Dreyer L, Jacobsen S, Jespersen A, Bliddal H, Danneskiold-Samsøe B. Fibromyalgi, diagnostik og praevalens. Kan kønsforskellen forklares? [Fibromyalgia, diagnosis and prevalence. Are gender differences explainable?]. Ugeskr Laeger. 2009 Nov 30;171(49):3588-92. Danish. PMID: 19954696.

4.  Matthew H, Alyson PK. The effects of estrogen on women’s emotions and mood. 2024 Aug 5. https://www.webmd.com/women/estrogen-and-womens-emotions (accessed 1 June 2025) 

5.  Fibromyalgia. Cleveland Clinic. 2022 Dec 1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4832-fibromyalgia (accessed 1 June 2025)

6.  Cronan TA, Serber ER, Walen HR, Jaffe M. The influence of age on fibromyalgia symptoms. J Aging Health. 2002 Aug;14(3):370-84. doi: 10.1177/08964302014003004. PMID: 12146512. 

7.  adapted from: Korean Society of Clinical Neurophysiology. Fibromyalgia syndrome. J Korean Soc ClinNeurophysiol. 2000;2(1): 1-6. https://koreascience.kr/article/JAKO200027362963946.pdf (accessed 1 June 2025)

8.  adapted from: Mayo Clinic. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS): symptoms and causes [Internet]. Rochester (MN): Mayo Clinic; 2022 Feb 25 [cited 2025 Jun 1]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/premenstrual-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20376780

9.  Koné MC, Kambiré NA, Ahoua Y. Impact of fibromyalgia on female infertility. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2021;11(10):1446-1460. doi:10.4236/ojog.2021.1110135

10.  Jain Gynecology. The connection between fibroids and estrogen. 2022 Jul 7. https://jaingynecology.com/posts/uterine-fibroids/the-connection-between-fibroids-and-estrogen/ (accessed 7 Jun 2025).

11. Morrell ED, Mikacenic C. Differences between children and adults with COVID-19: it's right under our nose. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2022;66(2):122-123. doi:10.1165/rcmb.2021-0455ED. PMID: 34758269; PMCID: PMC8845138.