Bit unlikely maybe but could there ever be a connection between these things?

River has a prolapsed disc, just past the end of the spinal cord.  This was diagnosed in June by MRI, and is chronic.  Not too bad, she is perfectly mobile but she is in a fair bit of pain with it, and has just started going to a rehab clinic as I'm hoping to avoid putting her through surgery.

Now the gut things.  She has, for years, licked things - the sofa, beds, my duvet, my bedroom wall, my bedside cabinet, my legs :-P  but mainly soft things.  Never thought much of it but it's gotten more pronounced this year, and more so in the last few weeks.  Recently I read an article linking environmental licking with gut problems such as IBS - in the dogs they looked at that were licking, I think it was 75% that had gut problems on investigation.

In her first rehab session, the therapist told me that her gut is very sore/tender.  She eats and goes fine, no problems there but it's got me wondering - could her disc be having a direct effect on her gut, through the pressure on the nerve endings?  And if so - might it be improved as we improve the pain problems?

I'd be more inclined to think the licking is in relation to the pain from the prolapsed disc rather than a sore gut. Doesn't licking release endorphins and she's probably doing it to distract from the disc pain?