Natural Approaches to Pain & Inflammation

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When inflammation is an acute symptom, i.e., after injury, it’s part of the body’s positive response to aid the healing process. An ‘inflammatory messenger’ causes increased blood flow to an area and attracts white blood cells to fight off infectious diseases and invaders.  The process brings about the inflammatory symptoms such as heat, redness, swelling and pain.  Once the injury has repaired, the inflammatory process ends. Inflammation becomes an issue however, when it is a low-lying, continual symptom, known as chronic inflammation.

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Chronic inflammation is a symptom of common conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s Disease and Colitis.  Allergic inflammatory responses include food allergy, allergic rhinitis, hay fever, hives, and dermatitis, among others.

 

Chronic inflammation can damage our DNA, a molecule that carries our genetic instructions for growth, development and functioning.   This may be the reason why inflammation plays a part in many of today’s major diseases such as cancer, heart disease and obesity. 

 

Our approach to inflammation means looking at its causes, and how we can help ourselves to avoid or reduce it.

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What can trigger chronic inflammation?

 

There can be many triggers for inflammation that does not ‘switch off’ when its work is done. These can include on-going infections, poor gut health, common allergens such as food or pollen, toxins, air pollution, infection, nutritional deficiencies, and the balance of the fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 6 in the diet.

Research shows that we commonly have 20 times the amount of Omega 6 in a modern Western diet, compared to Omega 3.  Excess Omega 6 has an inflammatory effect, whereas Omega 3 has an anti-inflammatory effect.

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Gut health is inextricably linked to inflammation.  When someone suffers from leaky gut syndrome for example, particles, including bacteria and undigested food, escape from the digestive system and enter into the bloodstream.  This causes an immune reaction, which can be a constant source of inflammation throughout the body.  Sometimes bad bacteria gets into the bloodstream and can be a trigger for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and inflammatory bowel disease.