Do you feel like your muscles and joints are always in pain or feel stiff? There are a number of conditions that can affect your muscles or joints, but in many cases, the pain and stiffness are related to inflammation.

Inflammation is your body’s natural way of responding to perceived threats, such as an injury or infection. However, certain foods have properties that can trigger the development of inflammation when your body doesn’t really need it for an injury or infection.

Adjusting your diet can help reduce the development of inflammation and can even help prevent inflammation.

Foods to avoid that make inflammation worse

Certain types of foods contain properties that encourage the development of inflammation. You should eat less of or eliminate the following from your diet to help prevent chronic pain:

• White bread
• Red meat
• Saturated fats and trans fats
• Caffeine
• Sugar
• Artificial sweeteners with aspartame
• Nightshade vegetables, such as potatoes

Foods to eat more of that help fight inflammation

It can be hard to eliminate foods you love from your diet, but thankfully, there are great and flavorful alternatives you can enjoy instead. Include more of the following in your diet to help reduce and prevent inflammation:

• Lean protein, such as fish or poultry
• Unsaturated fats, such as olive oil
• Greek yogurt
• Fresh greens
• Fruits
• Colorful vegetables
• Turmeric
• Nuts

Visit Continuum Wellness for help reducing and preventing inflammation

Improving your diet is a great way to fight inflammation, but if you have a condition causing that development of inflammation, you’ll need more help. In many cases, physical therapy is what you need.

At Continuum Wellness, our physical therapists can examine your condition to identify the source of your pain. We can develop a personalized treatment routine designed to target this pain and help reduce it and improve your quality of life. Treatments vary from person to person depending on your specific needs but usually include:

• Therapeutic exercises
• Gentle stretches
• Soft tissue mobilization
• Joint mobilization
• Posture guidance and more

Contact our team today for more information about reducing inflammation or to schedule an initial appointment.