Is inflammation good or bad?
So often we hear things like take anti-inflammatory supplements, inflammation reducing diets, use ice to stop inflammation when you have an injury, etc. What we don’t hear what is the purpose of inflammation, and should we suppress our body’s ability to produce it?
Inflammation is a physiologic response to a stress stimuli, and plays an essential role in healing and injury repair. While there is a time and a place for inflammation, the goal is to recognize when it is appropriate, and when it is doing more harm than good. Acute inflammation is produced when there is an injury, or after surgery. It is the process by which the immune system releases white blood cells to surround and protect the area, the same way it fights an infection. You may experience localized pain, warmth, redness, and swelling. This type of inflammation is normal and appropriate, and typically lasts for 1-2 weeks, depending on the severity of the initial trigger.
On the contrary, when inflammation gets turned up too high, or the healing process becomes prolonged, the immune system continues to pump out white blood cells and chemical messengers in an effort to heal. This is when acute inflammation turns to chronic inflammation, and can become harmful. Chronic inflammation can also be triggered because of ongoing emotional stress. In today’s society, in which stress is primarily psychological, the body’s inflammatory response can become chronic and can impair both physical and mental health. Stressful events, for example, can activate the fight-or-flight response and trigger a chain reaction of stress-related changes in the body—including activating specific genes involved in making proteins that produce inflammation.
While stress is unavoidable, there are ways to combat the long term effects of stress and chronic inflammation. Researchers found that people who practiced yoga and meditation regularly had fewer signs of inflammation, including a decrease in their production of inflammatory proteins. Lead author Ivana Buric, a PhD student in Coventry University’s Brain, Belief and Behaviour Lab in England, says her team was surprised to see that different types of mind-body techniques had such similar effects at the genetic level. ‘Sitting meditation is quite different than yoga or tai chi,’ she said, ‘yet all of these activities—when practiced regularly—seem to decrease the activity of genes involved in inflammation.’ One study done by the Cleveland Clinic found that just 10 minutes of meditation a day for 8 weeks lead to participates feeling more energized, better able to handle stress, deeper, more restful sleep, and some even reported weight loss. These benefits were still measurable a year later.
Expert bodywork at Massage Harrisburg is also a powerful mind-body practice that can reduce the damaging effects of stress, and mindful breathing during your massage will increase its benefits. Massage promotes better circulation, relaxes muscles, lowers the heart rate, and encourages the body to release endorphins and serotonin, the “feel good” hormones. Sessions as short as 30 minutes can help improve overall mental clarity and begin the process of reducing stress levels, thus decreasing chronic inflammation and allowing your body to function at it’s highest potential.
