Conventional wisdom dictates that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs constitute the best first-line pharmacologic approach to arthritis pain. They work rapidly and provide substantive relief.
New research on pre-emptive nutrition for pro-inflammatory states has revealed startling discoveries on ways through which the body fights pain and inflammation on its own, given the proper circumstances. Insights into the mechanisms of action of omega-3 fatty acids are revolutionizing our approach to the multimodal management of arthritis pain.
Acute inflammation, a defensive response mounted by the host, serves to rid afflicted tissues of the causes and consequences of injury. Chronic inflammation, however, keeps the body locked in a state of perpetuating pain and biochemical unrest.
The omega-3 polyunsatruated fatty acids (PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) facilitate the return of a homeostatic tissue environment.
The mechanisms underlying these changes is catapulting the field of nutritional pharmacology and nutrigenomics to the forefront by providing nutritional approaches to help thwart the inflammatory march toward cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, colitis and periodontal and heart disease.
When healthy individuals suffer trauma, inflammation ensues, but usually eventually disappears. Until recently, how redness, pain, heat and swelling leave the site of injury received little scientific scrutiny; most assumed that once initiators of infl...
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