Inflammation: What Is It, and Is It Always Bad?

Inflammation-basics-Arlington-Heights

Understanding Inflammation—and What You Can Do to Reduce Your Overall Inflammatory Load

Everybody seems to be talking about inflammation.

We’re told to eat anti-inflammatory foods.

Take supplements to reduce inflammation.

Avoid foods that “cause” inflammation.

Ice injuries to control inflammation.

Exercise to reduce inflammation.

And we’re constantly hearing that chronic inflammation is connected with disease.

After hearing all of that, you’d be forgiven for thinking inflammation is something your body would be better off without.

It isn’t.

Inflammation is actually one of the ways your body protects and repairs itself.

The problem isn’t inflammation itself.

The problem is when inflammation is excessive, inappropriate, or doesn’t resolve the way it should.

Let’s start with the basics.

What Is Inflammation?

Inflammation is part of your immune system’s response to injury, infection, or something else the body perceives as harmful.

Let’s say you sprain your ankle.

Almost immediately, a complicated series of events begins.

Blood flow changes. Blood vessels become more permeable. Chemical signals are released. Immune cells move into the injured area. Fluid accumulates around damaged tissue.

You see the result:

Redness.

Heat.

Swelling.

Pain.

Loss of normal function.

Those are the classic signs of inflammation.

And while they aren’t particularly pleasant, they’re happening for a reason.

Your body is responding to an injury and beginning the process of cleaning up damaged tissue and repairing it.

Inflammation Isn’t the Enemy

This is where I think our thinking about inflammation has become a little confused.

We hear so much about “fighting inflammation” that we start believing all inflammation is harmful.

It’s not.

If you cut your finger, you want your immune system to respond.

If you develop an infection, you want your immune system involved.

If you injure a muscle, ligament, or joint, some inflammatory activity is part of the normal healing process.

The goal isn’t to live in a body with zero inflammation.

That wouldn’t be healthy—or possible.

What we want is an appropriate response when it’s needed, followed by resolution when the job is done.

Why Does Inflammation Hurt?

Pain is part of the protective response.

Chemical substances released around an injury can make local nerve endings more sensitive. Swelling can also increase pressure around irritated tissues.

Suddenly something that normally wouldn’t bother you hurts.

That’s frustrating, but it also serves a purpose.

If you badly sprain your ankle and your body allows you to immediately run another five miles without discomfort, you’d probably make the injury considerably worse.

Pain changes your behavior.

It makes you protect the area while healing begins.

That doesn’t mean every pain should be ignored because “it’s just inflammation.”

It means pain and inflammation are part of a much larger biological process.

Acute Inflammation and Chronic Inflammation Are Different

This distinction is important.

Acute inflammation is the relatively short-term response we see after something like an injury or infection.

You hurt something.

The body responds.

Healing occurs.

The inflammatory response settles down.

Chronic inflammation is different.

It involves persistent inflammatory activity that can continue over longer periods of time.

Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation has been associated with a number of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions.

But here’s where we have to be careful.

The internet has turned “inflammation” into an explanation for almost everything.

Tired today?

Inflammation.

Back hurts?

Inflammation.

Brain fog?

Inflammation.

Gained five pounds?

Inflammation.

That’s not how diagnosis works.

Inflammation is enormously complicated, and symptoms like fatigue, stiffness, soreness, or generally not feeling well can have many possible causes.

Can You Feel Chronic Inflammation?

Not reliably.

If you sprain your ankle and it becomes swollen, warm, red, and painful, you can certainly see and feel the local inflammatory response.

Chronic systemic inflammation is different.

You can’t look in the mirror in the morning and accurately determine that your “inflammation level” is high.

Doctors sometimes use blood tests such as C-reactive protein and other markers when they’re clinically appropriate, but even those have to be interpreted in context.

This is another reason I’m cautious about products, diets, and treatments promising to “eliminate inflammation.”

Inflammation isn’t a diagnosis.

We need to understand what’s actually happening.

What Increases Our Overall Inflammatory Load?

While we can’t—and shouldn’t—eliminate inflammation, there are things in our everyday lives that are associated with chronic inflammation and poorer overall health.

And fortunately, many of them are things we have some control over.

Being Too Sedentary

The human body was designed to move.

Regular physical activity is associated with numerous health benefits, including better cardiovascular and metabolic health and healthier regulation of inflammatory processes.

You don’t have to become a marathon runner.

Walk.

Swim.

Ride a bicycle.

Lift weights.

Garden.

Play golf.

Take the stairs.

Do something regularly.

Consistency matters much more than trying to destroy yourself at the gym once every two weeks.

Carrying Excess Body Fat

Body fat isn’t simply stored energy.

Fat tissue—particularly excess visceral fat around the abdominal organs—is biologically active and can release substances involved in inflammatory signaling.

That doesn’t mean everyone needs to become thin.

It means maintaining a healthy body composition can be one piece of reducing chronic disease risk and overall inflammatory burden.

Even modest improvements in weight, activity, and metabolic health can matter.

What We Eat Matters

There is no single magical “anti-inflammatory diet.”

But overall dietary patterns matter.

A diet built primarily around vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, healthy fats, fish, and other minimally processed foods is generally associated with better health than one dominated by highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates, excessive added sugar, and large amounts of processed meat.

You don’t have to eat perfectly.

You don’t need a cabinet filled with expensive supplements.

Start by eating more actual food and less food manufactured in a package.

That’s a pretty good foundation.

Sleep Matters More Than We Think

We tend to treat sleep as optional.

It isn’t.

Poor or insufficient sleep affects many systems in the body, including immune and metabolic function.

Most adults should be aiming for roughly seven or more hours of sleep on a regular basis, although individual needs vary.

If you’re exercising, eating well, and doing everything else “right” but routinely sleeping five hours a night, you’re leaving out an important part of the equation.

Smoking Is a Major One

If we’re discussing ways to reduce inflammatory burden and improve long-term health, tobacco has to be on the list.

Smoking promotes inflammation and damages blood vessels and tissues throughout the body.

Quitting is difficult, but from a health standpoint, it is one of the most meaningful changes a smoker can make.

Alcohol Matters Too

This is another area where moderation matters.

Heavy alcohol consumption can contribute to inflammation and numerous other health problems.

You don’t necessarily need to make your life miserable in pursuit of perfect health.

But it’s worth being honest about how much you’re drinking and how often.

Don’t Forget Stress

Stress isn’t imaginary.

Our nervous, endocrine, and immune systems communicate with each other constantly.

Short-term stress is normal.

But chronic psychological stress can affect sleep, eating habits, activity levels, blood pressure, and immune function.

You probably can’t eliminate stress from your life.

I certainly haven’t figured out how.

But walking, exercising, getting outside, spending time with people you care about, prayer or meditation, hobbies, and simply slowing down occasionally can all be worthwhile.

Don’t Try to “Biohack” Your Way Around the Basics

This may be my favorite part.

People will spend a surprising amount of money trying to reduce inflammation.

Supplements.

Powders.

Special drinks.

Cold plunges.

Light therapy.

Elimination diets.

Various gadgets.

Some of these things may have legitimate uses. Others have limited evidence. And some are simply very good marketing.

Meanwhile, the person taking twelve supplements sleeps five hours a night, barely moves, eats fast food four nights a week, smokes, and drinks too much.

Start with the boring stuff.

Move your body.

Eat reasonably well.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Sleep.

Don’t smoke.

Limit alcohol.

Manage stress.

None of those things comes in a fancy bottle.

But taken together, they have an enormous effect on health.

Where Does Chiropractic Fit?

Chiropractic care isn’t a treatment for “whole-body inflammation.”

That’s not how I explain what I do.

If someone has an irritated spinal joint, muscle, disc, or another mechanical problem, there may be local inflammation associated with that problem.

Our job is to determine what’s causing the symptoms and whether the problem is something chiropractic care can reasonably help.

Sometimes improving joint movement and mechanical function is part of helping an irritated area recover.

For certain disc problems, sciatica, or spinal stenosis, Cox® Technic flexion-distraction may be appropriate.

Exercise and rehabilitation may be important.

And sometimes the cause of inflammation or pain isn’t musculoskeletal at all.

In that case, chiropractic isn’t the answer.

That’s why diagnosis matters.

Stop Chasing Inflammation and Start Asking Why

If your ankle is swollen, the important question isn’t simply:

“How do I get rid of the inflammation?”

It’s:

“Why is my ankle swollen?”

Did you sprain it?

Is there arthritis?

An infection?

A fracture?

Something else?

The same principle applies throughout the body.

Inflammation is information.

Sometimes it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.

Sometimes it’s telling us there is a problem that needs attention.

And when we’re talking about chronic inflammation and long-term health, there isn’t usually one magic food, supplement, or treatment that fixes everything.

It’s the accumulation of what we do every day that matters.

Move.

Eat reasonably well.

Sleep.

Maintain your strength.

Manage your weight.

Don’t smoke.

Go easy on the alcohol.

Find ways to manage stress.

And don’t panic every time you hear the word inflammation.

Your body isn’t fighting against you.

Most of the time, it’s trying to protect you.

The goal is to understand what it’s telling us.

At O’Hara Family Chiropractic, that fits very well with the philosophy I’ve followed for years:

Find it. Fix it. Leave it alone.

Peace.

Dr. Kevin