Is the pain due to Inflammation?

I am convinced that much of my pain is due to inflammation and I have been feeling better as I do things to reduce it. I found an interesting article on the web and I am sharing it, since some of you may want to get tested for inflammation levels. Here is is:

• Tests for Inflammation: (These notes were taken from: https://www.restartmed.com/how-to-test-for-inflammation/ )
o 1. ESR - erythrocyte sedimentation rate or ESR.- Blood test.
o 2. CRP & hs-CRP - CRP is an abbreviation that is short for C reactive protein and it is considered an acute phase reactant. When inflammation is present, your liver “turns on”, and just starts pumping out proteins and enzymes like CRP. CRP can be elevated in autoimmune conditions, low-grade infections, and high-grade infections (such as sepsis). A normal CRP in healthy adults is less than 8 mg/L. The hs-CRP has a different reference range compared to the regular CRP and that range is considered normal if your value is less than 2.0 mg/L.
o 3. Ferritin - Getting your ferritin tested can be tricky because it’s normally used to check if you have adequate iron levels in your body. It’s a GREAT way to check for how much iron is stored in your body and available to be used. But it can also be used as a tool to help identify if inflammation is present. The first is that ferritin tends to be more elevated with CHRONIC or long-lasting inflammation. CRP elevates with acute (or recent) inflammation but the ferritin can be more helpful in identifying inflammation that has been present for a long time (usually months).
 Note: A high ferritin doesn’t ALWAYS mean inflammation. It can also mean that your body has too much iron or is in a state of iron overload. So like the other tests listed here, you never want to just look at it in isolation or without the other lab tests. To simplify:
• A low ferritin is usually associated with low iron levels and NOT inflammation
• A normal ferritin means you have adequate iron levels and may or may not have inflammation
• A high ferritin typically means you have too much iron (iron overload) or chronic inflammation present
• A normal ferritin level for men is around 24 to 336 mcg/L and a normal ferritin for women is around 11 to 307 mcg/L. The higher your ferritin the more likely it is to be related to chronic inflammation.
o 4. Antibodies (Optional) -
 Testing for specific antibodies in the body can be useful once you’ve identified if inflammation is present. Under healthy, normal circumstances, you should NOT have positive antibodies to portions of your body. But that’s exactly what these antibodies mean if they are present in high quantities. It’s an indication that your body is attacking itself. And, depending on which antibodies are positive, you can get an idea of where that attack is occurring.
 It’s not usually necessary to start with antibody testing because these results can be non-specific and it would be overkill in many cases, but it may be a good idea to test if you can’t identify the source of inflammation in your body.
 Imagine you have elevated inflammatory markers but you aren’t quite sure where they are coming from but you are experiencing low-grade autoimmune symptoms.
 In this circumstance, it would be a good idea to start looking at different types of antibodies to figure out the root cause.
 There are many different antibodies you can look for but I’ve included a list of some below for you to take a look at.
 Here is a quick antibody/autoimmune disease guide (1):
• ANA test – Associated with many autoimmune diseases
• Thyroid peroxidase – Associated with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Thyroglobulin – Associated with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• TSH receptor antibody – Associated with Graves’ disease
• HLA B27 – Associated with ankylosing spondylitis
• Tissue transglutaminase and endomysial antibodies – Associated with celiac disease
• P-ANCA and C-ANCA – Associated with inflammatory bowel disease
• Again, it’s not usually a good idea to jump into testing for these things right away, but don’t forget that they exist because it may be a good idea to test for them down the line.
o 5. IL-6, TNFa, Fibrinogen (Optional) - Tests in this group include things like interleukin-6, TNF alpha, and fibrinogen.
 IL-6 helps to test for different aspects of immune function and is helpful for understanding how your immune system is responding to inflammation.
 TNF alpha, or tumor necrosis factor alpha, also comes from the immune system and tends to be positive in various types of autoimmune conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis.
 Lastly, fibrinogen is considered an acute phase reactant and so it can be elevated in conditions that result in inflammation.
 These tests tend to be on the more expensive side don’t always provide additional information compared to the tests we’ve already discussed so I won’t go into detail here.
• Source? - What is the source of the inflammation?
• Treatments:
o Eating an anti-inflammatory diet (like the Mediterranean diet or elimination diet) – The foods that you put into your body can either have a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effect!
o Taking certain supplements that have a known anti-inflammatory effect (supplements such as fish oil, alpha lipoic acid, bromelain (2), chondroitin (3), and so on) – Supplements can be used in conjunction with a nutrient-dense diet to help reduce inflammation
o Exercise regularly (4) – Exercise is key to reducing inflammation. You don’t even have to exercise a ton, either. Just regular exercise 2-3x per week is enough to see results.
o Lose weight (5) through diet, exercise, and hormone balance – Losing weight impacts your hormones which improves your metabolism, builds muscle mass, and helps reduce inflammation.
o Sleep at least 8 hours per night (6) – Improving the depth and quality of your sleep can also fight inflammation! Reducing how much you sleep by just a few hours is enough to CAUSE inflammation.
o Take advantage of meditation and mindfulness (7) – Lastly, meditation is another natural and free way to fight inflammation in your body.