Inflammation Creates Pain,
but What Creates the Inflammation?

Dr. Chuck Cochran, D.C.

What's the greatest human motivator?  Try pain. If you're in pain, you will do most anything to alleviate it. Millions of Americans endure pain and discomfort every day without knowing where to turn to for help. Many have unknowingly risked their own lives by relying on controversial pharmaceutical drugs to relieve their pain. In order to find relief from our pain, we must first have a clear understanding of what causes it. By educating ourselves, we will then be armed with the knowledge of what must happen to achieve the relief we so desperately desire.

Most pain is a result of inflammation. This is the body's response to either a real or perceived threat. When functioning properly, the immune system's white blood cells migrate to an area of bacterial or microbial infection and attack it by releasing prote­olytic enzymes and free radicals. This "battle" may result in temporary inflammation but it subsides once the infection has been properly dealt with by a healthy immune system. In the case of the more than 40 autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, the body's immune system is wrongly attacking the very tissues and organs it was designed to protect!

Many other inflammatory conditions are the result of the body's response to internal injuries. During our lives, virtually all of us damage tissues such as our cartilage, tendons or ligaments. These are "enclosed injuries" that are either the result of a spe­cific occurrence or simply years of "wear and tear" on our joints. Though there are no invading organ­isms, it's not uncommon for our immune system to respond to these injuries by releasing the proteolytic enzymes and free radicals which again attack the body's own healthy tissues (usually in our joints). This reaction leads to inflammation and pain.

Hence, pain is generally the result of the following three "causes": 

1. A Destructive Process where the body attacks its healthy tissues.

2. An Inflammatory Response to the attack

3. Damaged Tissue (usually in the joints).

Now that we have a basic understanding of pain, it makes sense that we successfully address all three of these "causes" in order to find relief. Clearly, we must first stop the destructive process before we can reduce the inflammation and rebuild the damaged tissue. Unfortunately, both traditional and alternative medi­cine focus only on the last two causes. Pain drives many of us into "survival mode", which usually means we settle for some kind of prescribed or over-the­counter drug. Though this alternative may offer short-term relief, it doesn't provide the long-term solution.

Since 1997, Dr. Cochran has focused on the research and devel­opment of nutraceutical formulations. Because of his extensive work with the various fatty acid ester complexes containing cetyl myristoleate, related analogs, and their effects on the different forms of arthritis, he was nominated, and was a finalist, for the International Olympic Prize endowed by Pfizer for the year 2002. Currently he has a private practice in Arroyo Grande, California where he specializes in developing and per­forming comprehensive nutritional and dietary protocols for his patients. Dr. Cochran received his doctorate in chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.