Reducing Pain and Inflammation: A Guide to Managing Chronic Inflammation and Improving Health

2023-11-05 22:00:00

‘Inflammatory substances’ circulate in blood vessels and cause pain… Reduce inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain

If chronic inflammation is left untreated, it worsens into high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, etc.

If you feel tired for no reason, chronic inflammation… Inflammation and pain are resolved once with proper management

Na Hyo-jin, rehabilitation medicine specialist

‘Inflammatory substances’ travel throughout the body and cause ‘pain.’ You can control pain by managing inflammation. Image Today

“Why do I hurt everywhere?”, “I’m busy going to the hospital for shingles, arthritis, and indigestion. I’m so depressed. Can it get better? “, “It won’t get better as I get older, right?”, “I exercise hard, but why do I always feel pain?”

These are the sad complaints that patients hear in the clinic.

Although each patient’s story is different, they all have one thing in common.

The point is that we are living with ‘chronic inflammation’.

Since ‘inflammation’ causes ‘pain’, ‘pain is inflammation’.

When ‘inflammatory substances’ travel throughout the body through blood vessels and attack a specific area, pain occurs. If the joints are attacked, ‘arthritis’ occurs, and if the muscles are attacked, ‘muscle pain’ occurs. Like this, inflammatory substances travel around wherever there are blood vessels and cause damage (pain), causing pain to the entire body.

If you have ever visited a hospital because of pain, there are basic medications you can receive. It is an ‘anti-inflammatory agent’ that reduces inflammation. First of all, when inflammation is reduced, pain is also reduced. Some patients ask, “Do I really need to take anti-inflammatory painkillers? People often ask, “Can’t I just tolerate it?” Then, he explains, “The drug has a pain-relieving effect, but its more important role is to reduce inflammation.”

The role of inflammation is to protect our body. It is a defensive response to resolve the problem when a bad virus infiltrates the body or an injury occurs. Pain is a warning signal of danger. So, in acute inflammation, the pain disappears when the cause of the inflammation is removed.

Chronic inflammation causes pain throughout the body. You must listen to the pain signals your body sends and treat it well.

The problem is ‘chronic inflammation’. If inflammation is left untreated, the condition gradually worsens without clear symptoms, causing bigger problems such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

When inflammation occurs, our body sends several immune cells to fight it. However, if immune cells become tired from fighting chronic inflammation, there is a high risk that they will collapse and not be able to do their job when a fatal threat such as cancer cells occurs.

Also, our body makes antidotes to reduce inflammation, but when the ingredients are insufficient, it even uses the articular cartilage to weaken the joints. If there is inflammation, the leg and back muscles also become weak. Cytokines, an inflammatory substance, promote muscle breakdown and weaken muscles, so it hurts even when you exercise, you get injured often, and the more you exercise, the more it hurts.

For this reason, chronic inflammation has gained the notoriety of being a ‘silent killer.’ If inflammation travels throughout the body 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, causing pain and difficulty here and there, the body can reach a state where it cannot recover, like clothes getting wet in a drizzle.

If you go to the hospital because you are sick, “there are no major problems in the X-ray or MRI.” If you have heard that “there is only inflammation,” you should pay great attention to the ‘inflammation’ that is floating around your body.

There is a standard to determine whether something is ‘chronic inflammation’ or not.

1. I am overweight, always craving sweets, and often hungry.

2. Difficulty digestion and constipation.

3. Even when I wake up, my body feels very heavy.

4. My body aches and hurts.

5. I have less concentration than before.

6. I have less energy and feel more tired.

7. I have a headache and feel dizzy often.

8. Your skin is dry.

9. I catch colds often.

10. There are multiple pain points.

In summary, if you feel tired for no apparent reason and have pain here and there, you can strongly suspect ‘chronic inflammation’.

In this case, it is a good idea to check the level of inflammation in the body with a ‘high-sensitivity CRP (C-reactive protein)’ blood test. CRP is a protein produced in the body when there is inflammation, and the more severe the inflammation, the higher the level of CRP in the blood.

If you practice lifestyle habits that reduce inflammation in your daily life, pain will also disappear.

1. Eat health functional foods with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Be sure to take Omega-3, magnesium, vitamins B and C, and glutathione and polyphenols can also help reduce inflammation.

2. Reduce body fat

If there is a lot of fat in the body, bad inflammation increases quickly. Processed food containing high fructose that stimulates insulin secretion. Reduce flour foods, refined carbohydrates, and trans fatty acids.

3. Drink enough water

Water plays an important role in expelling waste and toxins from cells.

4. Warm up your body

Since we are frequently exposed to cold foods such as ‘Aa (Iced Americano)’ and air conditioners, avoid directly raising your body temperature through baths or foot baths or avoid cold environments. It would be a good idea to change your habits to warm drinks.

5. Prevent constipation

Intake of lactic acid bacteria and moderate aerobic exercise are essential.

Let’s manage inflammation well to shake off pain here and there and regain vitality and health.

If there is no special problem but your whole body hurts, suspect ‘chronic inflammation.’ [건강 퍼즐]
Tips for solving ‘chronic inflammation’, the cause of pain [건강 퍼즐]

< 저작권자 ⓒ 서울경제, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지 >

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