Almost 30% of the population in the United States deals with Chronic pain or some joint, skin, or autoimmune condition that is linked to pain. With endless amounts of medications just being given out to people to help treat the symptoms of pain, the root of the pain is still being left untreated. The root of all pain is inflammation in our cells. The more we can prevent inflammation from taking over, the better we can heal our body from the inside out. In this article, I will take a deep dive into all things pain and provide some researched tips to prevent and manage your pain naturally.
**Disclaimer: This is not medical advice, I am not a doctor I am a holistic expert providing information you can use at your discretion. Please consult your doctor before making changes to your medications or treatment plan.
Inflammation
Inflammation is an immunological response by the body when a foreign substance, object, or toxin has entered your body. This can be a response to an injury or an illness. Inflammation is a normal part of the healing process, but sustained inflammation is where the problem begins regarding pain.
Eternal inflammation can be caused by harmful ingredients in foods, microplastics, fragrances, blue light, and much more. All of these create inflammatory responses in the body. In America today, more inflammatory products are made each day. This consistent stimulus is creating an increased risk of inflammation in society. With 90% of the Standard American diet being processed foods, these ingredients respond to stress within our cells. This can accumulate in overused areas like our hips, lower backs, heart, fingers, shoulders, and more, leading to responses of pain, arthritis, and genetic mutations. This, combined with lack of sleep, no physical activity, and high stress, is a recipe for disaster when it comes to pain.
Where does pain come from?
Whether it is an injury that never properly healed or an ongoing influx of inflammatory toxins in your system, the accumulation of inflammation can create the ongoing aches and pains you experience. This pain is caused by cells being overrun and constrained by oxygen. This creates zombie cells, which can accumulate in areas where you experience pain. Most of the time, the regions, such as your shoulders, neck, lower back, hips, fingers, wrist, and toes, are under pressure. These areas have the most nerves and are the most injured throughout our lifetime.
High sugar and stressed lifestyles are among the leading causes of inflammation in these areas of the body. These are lifetime areas where we experience little movement and a lot of inflammatory toxins. This increases the likelihood of pain occurring in these areas. It has also been shown to increase the risk of genetic factors playing a role, leading to arthritis and other conditions.
Lack of Movement
Muscle tension is created throughout our body when we don't move our body. The saying goes, use it or lose for a reason. Sitting for hours a day and performing high-stress activities such as demanding tasks at work, playing video games, or just sitting thinking about stressful things in life creates inflammation that builds up in our joints and parts of our body where blood flow is constricted. Eating a high-inflammatory diet, being overweight, and struggling with HBP or cholesterol puts you at an even higher risk of inflammation building up in your joints over time, leading to increased pain and discomfort.
Lack of movement has been shown to increase the risk of osteoporosis and deterioration of bone marrow, leading to the risk of breaking bones and leading to long-term pain.
Main Foods That Cause Inflammation
Any substance foreign to the human body is considered inflammatory, whether that is chemicals like paint fumes, gas fumes, etc., or foods like refined sugar, gluten, soy, corn, ultra-processed foods, and fast food.
The chemicals found in processed foods and fast food have been shown to alter our gut microbiome, causing immunological responses leading to skin inflammation and systemic inflammation in our gut microbiome. A 2015 study found that a single meal of fast food high in saturated fat can increase airway inflammation in people with asthma, which can trigger asthma attacks. It has also been shown that a diet high in sodium increases blood pressure, which can cause heart disease. Sugary foods and drinks have been shown to increase the release of cytokines in the body; these cytokines can damage our cells, leading to decreased energy, pain, and much more. One study found that people who consumed more than 50g of fructose per day saw an increase of around 30% in inflammation. That is just two sodas a day. Foods like high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar all cause the release of these cytokines in the body.
Wheat (gluten) is not inflammatory for everyone, but it can be inflammatory depending on how it is processed and how healthy your gut microbiome is. We process gluten now with many other harmful inflammatory ingredients, like seed oils, sugar, food coloring, and more, that make the wheat more inflammatory. This affects people who struggle with celiac or gluten allergies.
All foods fried or cooked beyond their flash point are inflammatory and can lead to inflammation in the body, resulting in aches and pains. Consuming something that has been burnt or is carcinogenic for our body damages our cells and can put us at risk for cancer, obesity, and systemic inflammation.
Top Natural Methods You Can Use to Manage & Alleviate Pain
Hot/Cold
Your muscles and joints are like rubber bands. The more they don't move and change in temperature, the more tense and stagnant they become. This creates tension, stiffness, and pain in those areas of your body. One of the easiest ways to improve blood flow in these areas is through hot/cold therapies. You can use an infrared sauna, or any sauna for that matter, to help improve blood flow, circulation, and detoxification. Using a sauna can help make your muscles lose, increasing blood flow. This blood flow is also an excellent carrier for getting toxins out of your system. Which is why sweating is so essential. Spending 30-60 minutes weekly in a sauna is optimal for people. A great way to open yourself up is to do yoga while in the sauna, as focusing on your breath and stretching decreases stress and improves inflammatory detoxification.
Cold plunging is the craze right now, with everyone buying cold plunges; it definitely has research to back it up. Cold plunging has been shown to decrease soreness, decrease pain, improve stress management, improve sleep, and can be great after exercise for recovery. Clod plunging also enhances your immune system, which can help with inflammatory biomarkers in the blood. The more you can improve your immunological response to inflammation, the better your body can get rid of it. Spending 2-3 minutes a couple times a week is optimal. Gradually work your way up in time and down in temperature.
Flexibility/Massage
Stretching, mobility, and tissue massages are necessary to break down built-up tension and open up deep spots in your body. It releases emotions and stress and helps build more muscular durability. You can use tools like foam rollers, resistance bands, static stretching, massage guns, cups, animal stretching, yoga, and pilates to help improve your flexibility and mobility. Research states that the key to longevity is strength and flexibility. The pliable and mobile you can be, the chances for injury and pain significantly decrease. Spending 2-3 days a week 30-45 minutes stretching your whole body can be a great place to start. Another tip is to focus on deep breathing while you stretch to help you reach even more depth in your stretches.
Emotional Release
Our emotions carry a lot of weight on our mental well-being, but how do they affect our physical well-being when it comes to pain? Well, there is a lot of research on how we store and carry stress in our body in different areas. Like a tight lower back, hamstrings, shoulders, or neck all have different stress and emotions. For example, there is a strong correlation between carrying excessive anger in our lower back, which is what can cause tension and back pain. Tension in the shoulder is a sign of carrying excess anxiety and stress, which is a part of the body's fight or flight response. This is the result of releasing cortisol, which is our body's response to stress. When this hormone is released in excess, it can wear down our adrenals, cause fatigue, and be stored in tense areas of the body, causing soreness, stiffness, and pain.
Create a space to feel and release your emotions; if you find yourself stressed, anxious, sad, or angry, ask yourself, what is the best way for me to express this right now? It can be through movement, journaling, art, laughter, crying, or meditation. There are numerous ways you can express your emotions; you don't want to suppress your feelings, which can be caused by distracting yourself or using substances or foods to bury your feelings. If you struggle with expressing your emotions, I highly recommend seeing a therapist or a professional who can help you develop the tools so you can express your feelings in healthy and effective ways.
Eat The Rainbow
Food is medicine, and it is information; this information is what helps our body effectively communicate with our cells. When our cells can properly detoxify and excrete toxins, our immune system can better keep inflammation at bay. Now, the main thing to focus on with this is keeping inflammatory foods to a minimum, which is anything processed or high in refined sugar. But a way to improve inflammation detoxification is to incorporate the following foods into your diet every month, which can help to boost nutrient diversity, gut microbiome bacteria, and cellular rejuvenation;
Mustard greens
Swiss chard
Kale
Broccoli
Asparagus
Beets
Beetroot
Ginger
Turmeric
Spirulina
Chlorella
Cherries
Berries
Fatty Fish
Eggs (pasture raised)
Organ meats
The main component of these foods that help reduce pain and inflammation is their antioxidant profile. The more antioxidants in your diet, the better your body can respond to inflammation. For optimal results, it is recommended that you eat these foods weekly.
Detox
Finally, detoxification is the key to giving your body time to heal from inflammation. Your body has the power to heal itself with a bit of R&R. Resting your body and recovering from inflammatory foods, getting adequate sleep, Fasting, and Eating the foods listed above for an extended period, around 28 days, can be a great way to completely reset your body and increase your energy, decrease symptoms of pain and fatigue and improve your overall quality of life.
Take Away
Pain begins with inflammation; the less inflammation in your body, the less pain you are likely to feel.
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