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The Latins had no doubts. And they used their beautiful tongues to define a nuisance, from pain after trauma to a reaction to a sting. Four key words: rubor, that is redness, tumor, then swelling, cum heat (sensation of heat) and pain.
Inflammation, in its various declensions, it still remains characterized by these terms. And it is very frequent: in the last three months two out of three Italians have declared that they have suffered from at least one inflammatory disorder, especially in muscles and joints. This was stated in an investigation by Human Highway for Assosalute, the national association for self-medication.
What strikes us most in the summer
According to the research, muscle and joint inflammation are the most common disorders, with about 41.2% of the Italian population, especially the over 45, who claims to have suffered from it in the last three months, followed by oral inflammations (gingivitis and canker sores), which amounted to 18% which, on the other hand, are more common in the younger population, particularly among the thirty-year-olds.
According to those who suffer from it, it would be the habits of life and incorrect behavior the main reasons for the onset of this type of disorder. In particular, in 58.3% of cases, inflammations arise due to incorrect movements and wrong postures or are consequent to lifestyle and stress, respectively for 46.1% and 42.6% of the population interviewed. Causes follow such as age, incorrect nutrition and lack of prevention and protection.
But what is it about? And why does a positive mechanism turn into a problem for well-being? “Inflammations – comments Ovidio Brignoli, vice president of Simg (Italian Society of General Medicine and Primary Care – are reparative (and therefore positive) processes that the body sets in motion when it receives an insult. When this happens, it produces energy and consequently heat, perhaps the most typical sign of inflammation “.
It is certain that not all seasons are characterized by the same phenomena, at least in terms of frequency. If in cold periods the inflammatory response is essential to cope especially with viruses and the like, with the heat other problems tend to occur.
An example? Think of the muscular inflammations, which often occur before going to bed, following a decrease in mineral salts due to the heat, or states of exhaustion, which in turn can be accompanied by gastric disorders. These can also be linked to the change of seasons and to states of stress, which this year worsened with the pandemic. Without forgetting of course the action of heat and the sun’s rays, for which you must always protect yourself.
Warm, friend or foe?
The survey showed that for the vast majority of people heat, one of the four signs of inflammation according to the Latins, is mainly associated with something negative. Let it be clear, however, that it is not easy to distinguish a warmth good from a bad one for the organism.
“It is evident that a burn causes an increase in the external temperature of the skin and it is a negative fact, while physical activity and digestion or some hormonal phenomena cause an increase in body temperature but are physiological phenomena that is normal – explains Brignoli. The fever it is certainly the best known and most frequent phenomenon of an increase in body temperature and which can arise as a response to an infection ”.
In some cases, and in particular when the temperature is particularly high, a series of mechanisms are activated, such as sweating and, sometimes, muscle tremor, which have the aim of promoting a lowering of body temperature. In short: we learn to recognize the reactions related to the defensive response of inflammation and remember that prevention (weight control, movement, light nutrition) and good habits allow us to be in better shape if the enemy “attacks” us, in the many garments that can assume.
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