Understanding and Managing Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation affects systems throughout your body including digestion, energy, and joints, causing threats to your long-term health. Watch for the warning signs, and learn how to manage its causes and effects.

Inflammation is a natural part of your body’s immune system response to damage or injury. Inflammation is necessary for healing. However, sometimes it can be too much of a good thing.

Chronic inflammation happens when your body continues to release inflammatory cells after they’re no longer necessary, linking up with many ongoing health concerns, from asthma to Alzheimer’s. At Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, we’re concerned with chronic inflammation as primary care providers.

The causes of chronic inflammation

Sometimes, necessary inflammation isn’t switched off after an injury heals. Other times, the immune system attacks tissue in your own body, creating unnecessary inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders.

Other causes of chronic inflammation can include:

Ongoing stress
Poor sleep habits or insomnia
A diet high in unhealthy fats, processed foods, and sugars
Smoking
Excessive use of alcohol
Sedentary lifestyle
Obesity
Untreated infections
Environmental toxins

Chronic inflammation differs from acute inflammation in its long-lasting nature as well as its lack of contribution to active healing.

The signs and symptoms of chronic inflammation

You can usually suspect chronic inflammation from the physical symptoms it displays, such as:

Frequent headaches
Low energy levels
Persistent fatigue
Bloating or other digestive discomfort
Slow-healing wounds
Skin flare-ups or rashes
Cognitive weakness affecting concentration and memory

Since many of these symptoms are present in other conditions, chronic inflammation can sometimes be tricky to diagnose.

Potential complications

Long-term inflammation can lead to a wide range of other health conditions, including:

Arthritis
Increased cancer risk for some forms of the disease
Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance
Digestive problems
Heart disease
Progressive autoimmune disorder symptoms
Stroke

Chronic inflammation can also contribute to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, lung diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Managing chronic inflammation

You have control over some of the lifestyle options that lead to chronic inflammation. Consider these strategies:

Diet

Prioritize an anti-inflammatory diet rich in plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and fatty fish. Moderate your intake of saturated and unhealthy fats, highly processed foods, and refined sugars.

Activity

Aim for 30 minutes of moderate, low-impact activity daily, things like biking, swimming, or walking, five days a week. Add flexibility and strength training to extend the benefits of physical activity as a natural, drug-free way to manage inflammation.

Sleep hygiene

Getting enough high-quality sleep can be a challenge in a busy, demanding life. Establish a consistent and regular sleep cycle and guard it aggressively. Sleep is one of the most powerful ways your body repairs itself, and it’s healthcare that costs you nothing.

Weight management

Achieve and maintain a healthy body mass index to help all of your body’s systems work at peak efficiency.

Enlist a medical partner

Chronic inflammation is common, and there’s no great mystery about management, once you’re correctly diagnosed. The sooner you start, the better your long-term outlook.

Contact Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, at the first potential signs of chronic inflammation. Call or click to book an appointment today.

We are conveniently located near Boston and proudly extend our services to communities throughout Norfolk, Plymouth, Bristol, and Providence counties, including Braintree, Canton, Stoughton, Westwood, Norwood, and Walpole.

Whether you're in Foxborough, Easton, Brockton, or Abington, we're just a short drive away. We also welcome clients from West Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Bridgewater, and Middleborough, as well as Taunton, Norton, Mansfield, and Attleboro.

Our reach extends to Rehoboth, Somerset, Swansea, Fall River, Westport, Dartmouth, New Bedford, and even further to Wareham, Plymouth, and Pembroke. Rhode Island residents in Providence, East Providence, and Warwick can also rely on our services.