Inflammation is, in part, a natural response of the body towards outside invaders. Most people experience inflammation as that swollen, red, and painful feeling that can affect parts of the body such as the joints and back. It’s that kind of inflammation we’re going to be talking about today, looking at causes, treatments, and things that you might be able to do to prevent it, especially if you find that it happens often as a result of exercise.
Exercise and inflammation
A lot of people might find that they experience some light joint pain after an exercise. However, this is typically the normal type of inflammation that will go away after a while. In fact, exercise is known to reduce inflammation, in general, especially when you’re doing both aerobic and strength training exercises. Weight can also have an effect on inflammation for a range of reasons, including the fact that when we are overweight, our body puts more pressure on our joints, which can cause them to have an inflammatory response more often.
Diet and supplements
There are a whole range of foods that can affect your body’s inflammatory response. For instance, omega-3 is known to be highly effective at combating inflammation and can be found in fish such as tuna and salmon, walnuts, tofu, and more. There are also supplements such as Fadogia Agrestis that many use as a non-medicinal anti-inflammatory. On the other hand, there are foods that can cause or exacerbate inflammation that might be worth limiting in your diet, as well, such as margarine, corn oil, and any other foods that might have trans fats in them, as well as red meat.
Managing your stress
If you have dealt with serious stress before, then you might recognize that it often comes with some pretty bad back pain. This is because stress can affect our production of cortisol, a hormone that, among other things, can trigger the body’s inflammatory response, combined with the tension our muscles tend to have as a result of stressful situations. Exercises such as yoga can not only help you manage your own stress, but they can serve as the need for fitness mentioned above, helping you tackle two common sources of inflammation.
When it’s time for outside help
If you are concerned about inflammation affecting your body, if it seems like it happens too often, then there’s nothing wrong with seeing a doctor about it. However, on the other hand, there are symptoms that you shouldn’t ignore, such as joint pain in different locations at the same time, difficulty moving as a result of joint pain, or symptoms that last more than three days. Arthritis is just one condition that is characterized by chronic and excessive joint inflammation, and treating it requires a specific approach you need the help of a doctor to ensure you’re doing right.
Inflammation affects everyone, but if you start to feel like it affects you more often than it does not, then it’s time to talk to a doctor about it.
