Everyone is susceptible to inflammation-from high-performance athletes to non-performance couch potatoes. It’s an equal opportunity hit man.
The word “inflammation” comes from the Latin inflammatio, meaning to set on fire. Inflammation is the complex biological response of the body to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the system to remove injurious or threatening agents as well as start the healing process for the affected tissue. In the absence of inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal and progressive destruction of the tissue would compromise survival.