What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is an immune system response to an injury or to a substance that the immune system recognizes as foreign and which it perceives to be a threat to the body. The foreign substance could be a harmful bacterium, a virus, a toxin, a fungus, even a food to which the body is sensitive.
When you have a wound or an injury, or when there has been a bacterial, viral, fungal or other infection, inflammation of the area is an expected and a needed response. The immune system triggers very specific first response cells to prevent further damage, to allow healing, and to remove antigens from the area.
Phases of Inflammation
There are different phases of inflammation, the principal ones being the initial inflammatory phase and then the resolution phase. The initial phase is generally characterized by symptoms most of us are familiar with – redness, puffiness, heat, and tenderness. Once the danger is over, a different portion of the immune system initiates the resolution phase to curtail inflammation and restore tissue homeostasis.
The initial phase should last only for a finite period of time. There is no hard and fast rule concerning how long the initial phase may take as it depends upon the type and severity of the injury or infection, the part of the body affected, and individual factors. After the initial phase of acute inflammation, the resolution phase should begin. When the resolution phase fails to trigger, a condition of chronic inflammation results.
Non-Symptomatic Inflammation
There is another aspect to inflammation, one that is perhaps less commonly known, and that is non-symptomatic inflammation. Any soft tissue in the body including muscles, the soft tissue of joints, and internal organs can become inflamed. Non-symptomatic inflammation is sometimes referred to as “silent” inflammation because it does not manifest in a way that many people associate with inflammation.
Perhaps it could be more accurately called “invisible” inflammation because someone suffering with an inflamed internal organ can’t see that it’s inflamed. The person may display such things as tiredness, headaches, general aches, or a general feeling of being unwell and may not suspect that inflammation is at the root of these symptoms.
Testing for Inflammation
There are different blood tests that can be done to detect chronic inflammation. Which test is used is determined based on the patient’s needs. One of the most commonly used is a blood test that measures the amount of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood. CRP concentrations increase in response to inflammation, so an elevated level of CRP is a very accurate indication of not only the presence of inflammation in the body but also the severity of the inflammation.
Green Apple Health Care practices Cause Based Medicine™ which is the systematic process of finding and treating the core cause of health concerns by using a classic naturopathic approach combined with scientific research to optimize patient outcomes.
Our focus is cause-based. We are relentless in identifying the root cause, the “why” behind the symptoms, and we address our treatment programs to the cause of the health condition, not the symptoms.
Call us at (780) 485-9468 to book a consultation. If you prefer, online booking is available for both new patients and repeat patients.
