Inflammation plays a key role in both acute and chronic pain. While it is a natural part of the body’s healing process, prolonged or excessive inflammation can contribute to ongoing pain and dysfunction. Understanding its role can help guide better treatment options.

In acute pain, inflammation is a short-term response to injury or illness. The immune system releases chemicals that increase blood flow, causing swelling, redness, and pain to promote healing. As the injury heals, inflammation naturally subsides, and pain improves.

In chronic pain, inflammation may persist even after the original injury has healed. This prolonged inflammation can lead to nerve irritation, joint damage, and increased pain sensitivity, making conditions like arthritis, neuropathy, and back pain worse. Research shows that chronic inflammation can also contribute to central sensitization, where the nervous system amplifies pain signals over time.

Managing chronic inflammation is key to long-term pain relief. Treatments like anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, diet changes, and regenerative medicine therapies (such as PRP or stem cell injections) can help reduce inflammation at its source. For nerve-related pain, interventional treatments like spinal cord stimulation (SCS) or peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) can help regulate pain signaling.