901.701.7010
Our Office
Patient Portal
So you’ve sprained your ankle. Or you’ve stubbed your toe. Or you’ve gotten stung by a bee in the backyard and muffled a few curse words under your breath so the kids don’t hear. In short, if you’ve experienced these swear-inducing traumas, you’ve also experienced the effects of acute inflammation – and despite the pain, this is actually the body’s way of protecting and healing you from injuries, infections, and other harmful triggers. But when acute inflammation turns chronic, you could experience the negative effects of a system meant to help you. So, without further ado, here’s ZüpMed’s comprehensive guide to all things inflammation: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good: Acute Inflammation
Acute inflammation: it’s your immune system’s best friend. You’ll recognize this acute condition by its telltale symptoms: redness, swelling, heat, pain, and loss of function. This short-term, natural response to harmful stimuli typically appears within minutes or hours of injury, and its primary purpose is to eliminate the initial cause of cell damage, clear out impaired cells, and initiate tissue repair.
Because this is a rapid, localized defense, it allows your body to target the specific site of injury or infection with a higher degree of accuracy, helping you to heal more quickly and get back on your feet (in some cases, literally).
Acute inflammation follows a simple, predictable, fast-acting path:
- Your body recognizes harmful stimuli
- It increases the blood flow to the affected area
- It sends more white blood cells to fight any pathogens
- It cleans up shop by removing dead pathogens and cells
In a perfect world, this is when your inflammation will subside, and tissue repair will begin, and hey presto, you’re feeling right back to normal. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, and that’s where inflammation shows a new face.
The Bad: Chronic Inflammation
Enter the villain. As opposed to acute inflammation, when your body is just following protocol – sending out an alarm that is then quickly resolved before all goes back to normal – chronic inflammation occurs when the body continues to ring the alarm bells even after the threat has passed, and unfortunately this overactive response can cause serious damage in the long run.
There are several key causes of chronic inflammation, including:
- Persistent Triggers: If the cause of the acute inflammation (e.g., pathogens, irritants) isn’t removed, it can lead to a prolonged inflammatory response.
- Autoimmune Reactions: In some cases, the immune system mistakenly identifies normal tissues as foreign and mounts an inflammatory response against them. This is the basis for autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
- Low-grade, Continuous Exposure: Continuous exposure to irritants, such as tobacco smoke or industrial chemicals, can lead to chronic inflammation.
- Immune Response Dysregulation: Sometimes, the body’s regulatory mechanisms that usually shut down inflammation don’t work correctly, leading to a prolonged response.
- Lifestyle Factors: Perhaps the most important on the list, factors like obesity, diet, stress, and even age and genetic risk can all contribute to chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation can last for months or even years, but it is often hard to detect. Patients may experience fatigue, fever, chronic pain, rashes, loss of appetite, or gastrointestinal issues, but the long-term effects can be far-reaching and even deadly if left untreated.
The Ugly: Long-Term Health Implications of Chronic Inflammation
The hard truth is this: chronic inflammation can be a silent killer. According to a report released by Harvard Medical School, nearly 60% of deaths worldwide are linked to chronic inflammation in some way. This is largely because it contributes to the development of various diseases and conditions that pose serious health risks in the long term, like:
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Cancer
- Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis
- Respiratory conditions like asthma or COPD
- Metabolic syndrome and diabetes
- Weight gain and obesity
- Digestive disorders
- Depression
- & compromised immune systems in general
As the body continues to sound alarm bells that aren’t easily turned off, the immune system progressively targets either itself or persistent stimuli, leading to the breakdown of tissues and a negative feedback loop that can make the process more aggressive over time. However, with treatment, our team can help curb the effects of chronic inflammation and increase your quality of life overall.
How ZüpMed Can Help
You didn’t think we’d leave you with just the negatives, did you? We wouldn’t dream of it.
Although chronic inflammation should be taken very seriously and in conjunction with your team of medical experts, there are several ways to reduce your risk and improve your condition.
Lifestyle Changes
More often than not, the change starts with your lifestyle. Adapting to an anti-inflammatory diet, implementing regular exercise, quitting smoking, reducing stress, and managing your weight gain can all prevent chronic inflammation or reduce its effects.
And while the answer is simple, that doesn’t always mean it’s easy. Enrolling in ZüpMed’s cardiometabolic program can help you stay accountable for your overall health and lifestyle.
Addressing Underlying Causes
At ZüpMed, we know that it isn’t enough to treat the symptoms – targeting the root cause of your inflammation is our main priority. By treating infections, managing autoimmune diseases, and preventing exposure to harmful stimuli, we can mitigate the risk that chronic inflammation poses to your long-term health.
Regular Monitoring
Chronic conditions of any kind require ongoing treatment to get the best results, and chronic inflammation is no different. By making ZüpMed your medical home, you’ll get access to our medication management and cardiometabolic programs that take your entire lifestyle into consideration to provide you with the treatment that best fits your needs. Regular visits ensure that we keep chronic inflammation in check as a team, so you don’t have to go it alone.
Fight Inflammation with Your Team at ZüpMed
While chronic inflammation can be detrimental to your health, the most important thing to remember is that finding health solutions that work for you is our main priority, and we’ve got your back. With years of experience and the in-house tools to manage your chronic condition, you’ll feel right at home at ZüpMed, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. Schedule your next appointment with our East Memphis team to experience intentionally different medical care and find your path to relief.
