Read on to find out what inflammation is, why it is important, where it commonly goes wrong and what exercise can do about it.
Everyone has experienced inflammation of some kind. No doubt you will be familiar with the signs; heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function. So what is happening to cause it?
Inflammation is a complex biological response to cell damage, irritants or pathogens. The process operates via chemical signals, which cause blood vessels to dilate allowing contents to leak out in the area. White (immune) blood cells flood into the area to eliminate the cause of the damage, clean up the debris, and then finally stimulate the repair process. Now the infection/damage is cleared and the rebuilding and healing can start. The overall process is extremely complicated but vitally important. If we lived in a world without inflammation broken bones would never repair, torn muscles would never heal, and minor infections would become lethal. Inflammation is essential for life.
When inflammation turns bad.
Inflammation is not meant to be a process that continues unabated. Usually the cause of the inflammation is temporary, only lasting a few days. However, if it has been present for over 3 months it is referred to as ‘chronic’ inflammation. In this case cleaning, clearing and infected cell killing gets stuck. The repair and regenerate processes occur at the same time at inflammation.
The causes for chronic inflammation are varied but usually the irritants that cause the inflammation don’t resolve. Some common examples are inhaled asbestos fibres, dust mite allergies, some viral infections (HPV), and autoimmune diseases.
Medical conditions caused by chronic inflammation are common and can be seriously debilitating; hay fever, asthma, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease (atherosclerosis), sinusitis, periodontitis, and even some cancers.
So what does exercise do?
We have known for some time that regular exercise is effective in reducing chronic inflammation. What was unknown was the complete mechanism. A new study with 47 participants has shown how a single bout of 20 minutes of exercise (65-70% VO2 Max) is enough to reduce inflammatory activity of monocytes through changed epinephrine levels. [1] Unfortunately a single bout of exercise is not likely to produce lasting effects.
The type of exercise is important. VO2 max is a rating of how much oxygen a person can use. Low grade exercise such as walking uses a low volume of oxygen while the other end of the spectrum would be an activity like running up stairs while carrying 25kg. It is very likely to exceed your VO2 max resulting in lactic acid causing the burning in your legs. Eventually you would need to stop to recover. A VO2 max of 65-70% is intense enough that you should only be able to speak in 4-6 word sentences.
Bounce out of bed:
In order to get relief from chronic inflammatory conditions you should aim for exercise that is regular (4-5 times per week), moderately intense around 65-70% VO2 max, over 20minutes in duration and should include a range of strengthening exercises.
The effects or regular exercise are vast and impressive. Remember to consult your Physiotherapist as they are perfectly positioned to understand the requirements for safe yet effective exercise.
[1] “Inflammation and exercise: Inhibition of monocytic intracellular TNF production by acute exercise via β2-adrenergic activation” by Stoyan Dimitrov, Elaine Hulteng, and Suzi Hong in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Published online December 21 2016 doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2016.12.017