Understand inflammation: what does it mean and when to seek help?

Patients often come to me worried about inflammation. There are a number of questions to answer before determining if inflammation is of real concern, and how to avoid it in the future.

But first, we need to understand what inflammation is:

Inflammation is a defense mechanism that allows the body to either (1) protect itself from attack, such as from infection or a virus; or (2) repair itself if injured, such as from a broken arm.



There are two types of inflammation – acute and chronic. Doctors can tell these apart by understanding the history of the inflammation, and by looking at the inflammation under a microscope.

Acute inflammation is good inflammation and protects your body. This inflammation triggers a burst of intense activity that settles down once the body has healed. For example, when you break a bone, acute inflammation triggers swelling to protect the injured area; new bone cells are recruited and scar tissue is created to close up the area. Once the bone has healed, the inflammation is gone.

This is in sharp contrast to chronic inflammation. This inflammation does not protect your body. For example, patients who suffer from a chronic inflammatory disorder like rheumatoid arthritis (inflammation in the joints) – there is no attack (injury) on the body and the inflammation doesn’t go away with healing. Something is obviously stimulating the immune system