When pain within the body arises, nothing more would be pleasing than to send it a “cease and desist” notice. The common resolution is “take pill, make pain go away.” While no person in the right frame of mind wishes to be in agony, solely taking a pill to make pain disappear doesn’t address the root of the matter, it puts a band-aid on the issue. Albeit a band-aid is helpful to assist the healing process, the matter at hand should be addressed also. Pain is the culmination of increased inflammation over a duration.
Inflammation is the immune system’s normative response to an area of the body that has been damaged. Tendons, ligaments, and joint tissues are designed to handle a standard load from various daily activities. When the load becomes overbearing and pushed beyond reasonable limits, deterioration may occur in those affected areas. Examples of this could be highly repetitive actions, quick or jerky motions, carrying or pulling heavy loads at or beyond your normal capacity, and in my case, playing the guitar for decades with a heavy playing hand. It could also be normal wear and tear on the body as we become wiser (notice I didn’t say getting older).
While there are occurrences where inflammation forms, such as with auto-immune, our focus here will be on the former mentioned above.
To reiterate, when pain materializes our initial reaction is to take or do something to make the discomfort recede. Chances are the pain will return at some point, because the root cause probably wasn’t addressed. And that is to scale down the inflammation.
Addressing inflammation can be a little tricky, because there are multiple pathways in which inflammation travels throughout the body. Picture in your mind a very intricate spider web. That is essentially what we are dealing with when it comes to inflammation.
Inflammation in itself is not bad. Because it is how the immune system handles something that requires attention. Inflammation is always present, and sometimes you don’t even feel it. The issue at hand is when you do start to notice and it’s painful. That is your body letting you know something needs to be addressed.
Two common over-the-counter products people take are acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol) and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in the form of ibuprofen (i.e. Advil, Aleve). There is some confusion on taking these products to address pain. Tylenol for instance is a pain reliever, not an anti-inflammatory, just as ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory, not a pain reliever. Acetaminophen and NSAIDs are not interchangeable even though they are addressing a common thread.
Taking relatively high doses of acetaminophen or ibuprofen for long periods come could be problematic. This is where we look to ingredients found in nature to render an inflammatory reduction without side effects.
Enzymes such as COX-1, COX-2, and LOX-5 are what spurn on inflammation around the affected tissue leading to stiffness, limited range of motion, and pain. BCM-95 Curcumin found in turmeric, and BOS-10 Boswellia, are two potent natural anti-inflammatory elements used in natural medicine to reduce the enzymes that cause inflammation. As with any anti-inflammatory, it takes time to reduce inflammation because of the complex pathways inflammation moves throughout the body. Patience is key.
In addition to the BCM-95 and BOS-10 to help scale back inflammation, I have personally found that stretches and exercises recommended by a qualified physical therapist or occupational therapist is beneficial. Avoiding foods that increase inflammation is also very helpful, including sugar, deep-fried foods, and highly processed foods such as snack items (chips, cookies, crackers, etc.) and replace them with lean meats, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.
by John Connor, CNC
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