Within recent years, the medical community has come to a shocking conclusion about the nature of pain. It used to be believed that pain was only a received sensation, e.g. the prick of a needle hurts due to the actual puncture of the skin. Today, it is understood that pain is actually a sensation given by the mind and body to prevent further damage from occurring. When a needle is inserted, it sends signals to the brain which translates those signals into what we know as pain, a message to our conscious to stop whatever it is we are doing.
This knowledge plays an immense role in how doctors go about remedying that pain. For instance, chiropractors understand that this pain response as well as other muscular responses, while designed to protect the body, can actually sometimes limit its healing process. For this reason the pain and muscular damage must be relieved to aid in proper healing. A lot of chronic pain is the result of chronic inflammation, and the evidence is quite strong that diet can contribute to increased systemic inflammation. But your diet is also one of the best ways to reduce it.