Nutrition and Spinecare
Anti-Inflammatory Approaches
Dietary modification can be quite effective in managing pain and inflammation. Dietary modification requires decreasing the intake of foods that contain pro-inflammatory substances and increasing the intake of those foods that have anti-inflammatory properties. Chronic pain can be accentuated and perpetuated by persistent inflammation. Therefore, nutritional recommendations that help reduce inflammation will help decrease pain. Nutritional supplements may work by reducing the levels of pro-inflammatory substances or by blocking pain-related chemicals in our bodies.
The primary goals of a nutritional anti-inflammatory therapeutic approach include:
The primary goals of a nutritional anti-inflammatory therapeutic approach include:
- Decrease the formation of chemicals which create inflammation.
- Stop histamine responses
- Block chemical pathways which promote inflammation (cyclo-oxygenase and lipo-oxygenase pathways)
- Promotion of the breakdown of scar tissue and blood clots (fibrinolysis)
- Promotion of supportive tissue formation (proteoglycans and collagen)
- Regulate normal blood flow (normal vasomotor function)
- Anti-oxidant cell membrane protection and stabilization