Inflammation: Even The Word Makes You Think, “Ouch!”

Inflammation is truly a fire within the body, generated by the immune system to fight a foreign substance or protect an injured area. We have all experienced it: the redness, swelling and pain. What many people aren’t aware of is that there are two different kinds of inflammation within the body – acute and chronic.

The Two Kinds of Inflammation

Acute inflammation is often caused by an injury. Chronic inflammation is generally more serious for it is difficult to stop and will result in the deterioration of body tissues over time. It may destroy a knee, as with rheumatoid arthritis, or even lead to cancer. Often with chronic inflammation the pain isn’t immediate, but only shows itself when the affected area has suffered some tissue destruction. With chronic inflammation the pain can even be located in a part of the body not associated with damaged tissues. When the heart is inflamed the person is more likely to experience a swelling in the legs than a pain in the heart.

Arthritis: A Grating Pain With Little Relief

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Remember how the hair on the back of your neck stood on end when the kid with a sheepish grin dragged his fingernails across the black board. Grating wasn’t it? Well, take that sensation and magnify it into true pain to imagine the agony millions suffer with arthritis. Instead of fingernails on a blackboard it’s bone against bone resulting in inflammation, stiffness and joint deterioration.

Of the over 100 forms of arthritis there are two which the majority of people suffer, Osteoarthritis (OA) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The cause of either has not been found, but certain clues about both have been discovered.

Osteoarthritis (OA)