Inflammation: More Than a Little Swelling
If you looked in a microscope and saw your cells bursting to release histamines when they became overwhelmed by antibodies, would you make a change in your diet? Many people don’t know that different people can have inflammatory reactions to different foods. If you knew the chronic inflammation from the stress you hold onto would lead to disease, would you still hold on to it? Studies show that chronic stress may result in atherosclerosis in the arteries or inflammation in other organs. If you knew that your constipation or diarrhea meant inflammation that would lead to cancer, would you find out what was causing it? There is a lot of evidence that chronic inflammation predisposes you to cancer, and the longer you have that inflammation, the higher the risk. Inflammation is the root of disease, but many people miss the hidden inflammation in their daily life.
Hidden Inflammation
Many people believe that since they don’t see inflammation, they aren’t experiencing it. Even if they do see it, they may not see the cause/effect relationship and how they might correct it. The tricky thing with inflammation is that often people don’t see the subtle signals the body is giving until it becomes such a big, life-affecting issue that they are forced to seek immediate or urgent medical attention for an acute condition.
That is where the analogy of the Fireman and Carpenter is practical. A fireman takes care of the acute condition by putting the emergency fire out. A carpenter rebuilds the house to ensure there won’t be future fires. A better option is to work with a carpenter ahead of time to assess the structure of the house. He can determine its potential for fires or damage and mitigate the situation before there is an emergency. When you look at healthcare through this lens, you’ll know who to call on for each situation. Fireman doctors can’t restore health, but they certainly have their place in saving lives. After a person is in stable condition, the carpenter doctors can work on restoring health. Each profession has tools for its specific purpose.
When a patient comes to one of our clinics with an existing condition, they typically know at least the basics of inflammation but not necessarily how it relates to their condition. Arthritis is inflammation. Autoimmune disease is inflammation. Heart disease is inflammation. The list goes on. It’s nothing new. The biggest difference is in how the body presents the inflammation. Doctors and researchers have known that inflammation is the cause of illness for some time. However, it’s how it is handled that is the determining factor between health restoration and simply masking and treating symptoms.
Many people don’t recognize the inflammation they are dealing with before it becomes a medical condition. They don’t see the warning signs the body is using to signal that something is off and causing an interference in function. Hidden inflammation is really not hidden. People just stop listening to their bodies when these symptoms become common and part of their everyday life. Do any of the following sound familiar?
Symptoms like:
- Brain fog
- Difficulty losing weight
- Chronic aches and pains
- Anxiety
- Acne
- Sinus Issues
- Headaches
- Depression
- Gastrointestinal issues
The list could go on and on. Depending on the person and their unique body and its capacity to adapt and function with inflammation.
What Causes Inflammation? The 3 T’s
Inflammation doesn’t just come out of nowhere. It’s both a symptom and a signal. There’s always a trigger behind inflammation – often many triggers. In chiropractic school, the “Three T’s”: Trauma, Toxins, and Thoughts are taught as the three sources of stress that require the body to adapt.
- Trauma triggers might be a car accident, fall, or another traumatic physical trigger that sets off the stress response.
- Toxins may include food allergies, medications, chemical exposure, bacterial infection or overgrowth, or another consumed or exposed stimulus.
- Thoughts may include chronic stress, which affects our thinking and keeps us in a continuous state of alarm and inflammation.
These stressors disrupt homeostasis (balance) in the body. For more information, watch Dr. Patrick Flynn’s Secrets Revealed on inflammation below:
The Swiss Watch of Function
Are you experiencing any symptoms of inflammation? Just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s normal. Often, people who come to our clinics with a disease are surprised when, after we help them reduce inflammation and restore function, the disease symptoms go away. They seem even more surprised when the aches and pains in their joints go away. Those aches and pains were inflammation they had simply gotten used to living with.
Consider this: the body operates like a finely tuned Swiss watch. When one system or gear isn’t functioning properly, the whole machine must adapt to compensate. Sometimes that results in the wrong time on the watch face or shutting down certain areas altogether so that further damage isn’t done. Once the gear or system is restored, the watch can go back to operating properly. The symptoms on the surface are often a result of another gear or system adapting and signaling the need for support and restoration.
Inflammation is the standard response of a healthy and functioning immune system to a harmful stimulus. If you have something as simple as a sliver, you will experience inflammation. The body responds to it to get rid of it. It’s a protective response. Inflammation should also happen if your body has an infection, injury, or illness. The site and severity of inflammation will be determined by other conditions in the body and the processes the body had to adapt to sustain life.
Your body uses that inflammation to repair and grow. If the harmful stimulus never goes away, the body will adapt to a state of chronic inflammation to get rid of the offending stimulus. If the body has to run in a constant state of inflammation and response, it causes a lot of harm to your immune system and your body. This, in turn, leads to additional stress and potential dis-ease.
Get Chronic Inflammation Under Control and Restore Health!
The inflammation is your body responding, and you can help it if you pay attention to the symptoms. Go back to the list again and consider other ailments you may be living with.
Do you have any of the signs of inflammation? Any acne or aches? Any gastrointestinal issues or difficulty losing weight? Removing the harmful stimulus is possible, but you won’t know where to start unless you have proper testing and work with a practitioner who understands inflammation and proper function.
We can help! Our doctors and clinicians are trained to look at comprehensive testing in a different way than is typical of fireman doctors. We operate as carpenters. The primary places we look at are the microbiome (gut), immune response, and hormone balance. Our cutting-edge testing and different perspective give us the advantage in understanding where inflammation may be signaling an interference in function. We can help you assess the current condition and function of your body, create a unique, personalized, health restoration plan, and guide you through that process.
To find out how we can help you restore health and function by reducing inflammation, contact one of our clinics. We do health differently!
