Inflammation and the cells that accompany it are necessary to heal the tissues so they do not fail in the future. However, when inflammation continues to hang around for weeks or even months than it becomes not only a nuisance but a painful reminder day in and day out. In fact, for many it prevents them from participating in the sport they love.

If you are a runner, or any type of athlete for that matter you will indeed suffer from inflammation of the soft tissues. Inflammation occurs from acute injury to a tissue like a strain or sprain from twisting a joint like your ankle or lifting something in your garage and hurting your back. Inflammation also occurs from repetitive stress or overuse. This comes in the form of a long or very hard track workout or can result from increasing mileage too fast. The inflammed tissue may be in the lower back resulting in back pain, or the knee, ankle or foot resulting in swelling and usually pain.

Conventional medical care typically involves the use of over the counter or prescription anti-inflammatory medication. However, these like all medications do come with side effects and consequences often not known to the individual. For instance, for tendon type injuries non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID's) medication has been shown to interfere with certain types of white blood cells that are necessary for healing. That means that tendon type injuries often heal slower or not as well when NSAID's are taken.

In addition to gastro-intestinal bleeding, over the counter anti-inflammatory medications require the liver and kidney to eliminate them. Over a lifetime this can create toxicity issues like liver and kidney failure for some even if they have taken the correct dosage. Unfortunately, we just don't know who or who is not susceptible to this kind of problem.

What is one to do? Grin and bear it. Fortunately there are some alternatives and I will list three of the most common below. First and foremost RICE (rest ice, compression and elevation) can be helpful for almost all kinds of inflammation. Icing the inflamed or sore area for 15-20 minutes 2-3 times per day for several days or even for weeks in chronic conditions can be helpful and allow for continued participation.

Second, the use of proteolytic enzymes or protein enzymes taken on an empty stomach works very well to aid the body in controlling inflammation. The protein enzymes taken on an empty stomach enter the bloodstream and act like pac-men eating up the cells associated with inflammation. These do not have side effects of GI bleeding or liver or kidney issues like NSAID's do because they work on a different pathway.

Finally, in cases where inflammation of a joint is involved or muscle inflammation due to poor biomechanics, adjustments can be very helpful. In the first case, in a 2010 study in Journal of Chiropractic Medicine ( 2010; 9, 101-114) adjustments were shown to decrease pain and inflammatory mediators in low back pain patients. Over the past 20 years I have seen more rapid rates of decreased pain and inflammation following adjustments to any joint in the body. Also, in many instances misalignments of the spine result in nerve pressure and or increased pull on muscles resulting in pain and inflammation. Correcting the misalignment results in better biomechanics, less muscle and ligament strain and reduced pain and inflammation.

So, the next time you are thinking about how to get rid of your sore and inflamed joint, think about some of these measures before you reach for that bottle of Advil.