Chronic Inflammatory Conditions
Reviewed by Dr. Martin Hart , DC & Dr. Koji Aoki, DC
Chronic inflammatory conditions are one of the most common underlying patterns we see in individuals with persistent, multi-system symptoms. Inflammation that does not properly resolve can affect immune signaling, gut integrity, hormone balance, neurological function, and metabolic health, often all at once.
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At Keystone Total Health, care is led by experienced practitioners including Dr. Martin Hart, DC and Dr. Koji Aoki, DC, who specialize in identifying and addressing the root drivers of chronic inflammation rather than managing isolated symptoms.
Understanding Chronic Inflammatory Conditions
Inflammation is a normal and necessary immune response. Problems arise when inflammatory signaling becomes persistent due to ongoing stressors such as immune dysregulation, gut dysfunction, environmental exposure, unresolved infections, or metabolic imbalance.
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In these cases, inflammation becomes a pattern, not a temporary response. Many individuals are told their labs are “normal” while their quality of life continues to decline. This disconnect often reflects incomplete evaluation, not absence of dysfunction.
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Related insight:
What Is a Chronic Inflammatory Condition?
A chronic inflammatory condition refers to a state in which the immune system remains persistently activated, even when there is no immediate injury or infection requiring repair. Rather than resolving appropriately, inflammatory signaling continues in the background, placing ongoing stress on multiple body systems.
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In the short term, inflammation is protective. It helps the body respond to threats and initiate healing. Over time, however, repeated immune activation or unresolved inflammatory triggers can lead to dysregulation. When this occurs, inflammation shifts from a helpful response to a chronic physiological burden.
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From a practitioner perspective, chronic inflammatory conditions are rarely isolated to a single organ system. Instead, they often reflect an underlying pattern involving immune imbalance, impaired gut-immune communication, environmental or metabolic stressors, nervous system dysregulation, and reduced capacity for recovery.
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This is why individuals with chronic inflammation may experience symptoms that appear unrelated on the surface, such as fatigue, digestive changes, joint discomfort, brain fog, mood changes, or hormone disruption, yet stem from the same underlying inflammatory process.
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At Keystone Total Health, practitioners focus on identifying why inflammation has become chronic, what is maintaining it, and which systems are being most affected, rather than viewing inflammation as a standalone diagnosis.
Common Chronic Inflammatory Conditions
Chronic inflammation often affects multiple systems at the same time, which is why symptoms can feel widespread or difficult to connect. Practitioners commonly see the following patterns when inflammation remains persistently elevated.
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Persistent fatigue and low energy
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Fatigue that does not resolve with rest
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Reduced stamina and slower recovery
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Brain fog and cognitive changes
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Difficulty concentrating or processing information
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Memory lapses or mental cloudiness
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Joint, muscle, and connective tissue discomfort
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Ongoing stiffness or achiness without clear injury
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Pain that flares or shifts unpredictably
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Digestive symptoms and food sensitivity
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Bloating, irregular digestion, or discomfort
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Increased sensitivity to previously tolerated foods
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Mood changes and nervous system symptoms
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Anxiety, irritability, or low mood
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Heightened stress reactivity
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Sleep disruption
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Trouble falling or staying asleep
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Waking unrefreshed
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Headaches and head pressure
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Recurrent headaches or pressure sensations
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Symptoms that flare with fatigue or stress
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Skin, sinus, and respiratory irritation
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Rashes, itching, or inflammatory skin changes
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Chronic congestion or sinus pressure
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Heightened sensitivity and reactivity
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Increased sensitivity to foods, supplements, or environmental triggers
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Symptom flares with stress, poor sleep, or exposure
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A key feature of chronic inflammation is multi-system overlap, where symptoms affect several areas of the body at once. This pattern often signals the need for a root-cause evaluation rather than isolated symptom management.
How Inflammation Becomes Chronic
Chronic inflammation rarely occurs without reason. In clinical practice, practitioners often identify one or more ongoing drivers, including:
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This layered physiology is why isolated interventions often provide only temporary relief.
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Related reading:
How Chronic Inflammation Connects to Other Conditions
Chronic inflammation rarely exists in isolation. When inflammatory signaling remains elevated, it places ongoing stress on multiple systems, including the immune system, gut, nervous system, and hormone regulation pathways. This is why many individuals experience overlapping conditions rather than a single, clearly defined diagnosis.
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Persistent inflammation is closely linked to autoimmune conditions, where ongoing immune activation can disrupt immune tolerance and contribute to inflammatory responses affecting the thyroid, joints, connective tissue, nervous system, or gastrointestinal tract. Gut dysfunction is another common overlap, as inflammation within the digestive tract can impair microbiome balance and intestinal barrier function, further amplifying immune stress.
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Chronic inflammation also plays a role in fatigue and low energy states by increasing metabolic demand and interfering with normal energy production and stress hormone signaling. Hormone imbalances frequently develop as a downstream effect, as inflammatory signaling alters communication between the brain, adrenal glands, thyroid, and reproductive hormones.
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Environmental exposures, including mold and toxic load, can further sustain inflammatory pathways by overwhelming detoxification systems and perpetuating immune activation. Because inflammation often affects multiple systems at once, effective care focuses on identifying shared upstream drivers rather than managing each condition in isolation.
Chronic inflammatory conditions are a common underlying factor in persistent symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, joint discomfort, and autoimmune or immune-mediated disorders. Because chronic inflammation can affect multiple body systems at once, many individuals have questions about its causes, symptoms, and how it is evaluated. The following FAQs address common questions about chronic inflammation and explain how Keystone Total Health practitioners approach inflammatory patterns using a root-cause, systems-based model.
What is chronic inflammation?
Chronic inflammation occurs when the immune system remains persistently activated over time, even in the absence of an acute injury or infection. Instead of resolving, inflammatory signaling continues to place stress on multiple systems, including the gut, nervous system, hormones, and metabolic pathways. This ongoing immune activation can contribute to a wide range of symptoms and overlapping conditions.
What causes chronic inflammatory conditions?
Chronic inflammatory conditions are typically driven by ongoing immune stress rather than a single cause. Common contributors include gut dysfunction, autoimmune activation, environmental exposures such as mold or toxins, chronic infections, nervous system dysregulation, hormone imbalance, and nutrient or mineral depletion. In many cases, several of these factors are present at the same time.
What symptoms are associated with chronic inflammation?
Symptoms vary widely depending on which systems are most affected. Common patterns include persistent fatigue, brain fog, joint or muscle discomfort, digestive issues, food sensitivities, sleep disruption, mood changes, headaches, skin or sinus inflammation, and heightened reactivity to stress or environmental triggers. Multi-system involvement is a key feature.
How is chronic inflammation different from acute inflammation?
Acute inflammation is a short-term, protective response that helps the body heal after injury or infection. Chronic inflammation occurs when that response does not shut off properly and becomes ongoing. While acute inflammation is beneficial, chronic inflammation can interfere with normal immune regulation and tissue repair over time.
​Can chronic inflammation affect hormones?
Yes. Chronic inflammation can disrupt communication between the brain, adrenal glands, thyroid, and reproductive hormones. This may contribute to symptoms such as sleep disturbance, mood changes, menstrual irregularities, weight changes, and reduced stress tolerance. In many cases, hormone imbalances develop as a downstream effect of ongoing inflammatory stress.
How does gut health relate to chronic inflammation?
The gut plays a central role in immune regulation. Inflammation within the digestive tract can impair the intestinal barrier and alter microbiome balance, increasing immune activation throughout the body. This gut-driven inflammation can contribute to systemic symptoms, even when digestive complaints are not the primary concern.
Can environmental exposures contribute to chronic inflammation?
Environmental exposures, including mold and other biotoxins, can significantly amplify inflammatory pathways. These exposures may overwhelm detoxification systems and sustain immune activation, leading to persistent multi-system symptoms until the underlying trigger is addressed.
How do practitioners evaluate chronic inflammatory conditions at Keystone Total Health?
Practitioners at Keystone Total Health evaluate chronic inflammation by looking at patterns rather than isolated symptoms or lab values. This includes a detailed health history, exposure assessment, symptom clustering, and targeted testing when appropriate. The goal is to identify what is driving inflammation, what is perpetuating it, and which systems are most affected.
Can chronic inflammation be addressed without medications?
Management approaches vary depending on the individual and the underlying drivers involved. While medications may play a role in some cases, many individuals benefit from addressing upstream factors such as gut health, immune regulation, environmental exposure, nutrient status, and nervous system balance. Care decisions are always individualized.
"Most of our patients are dealing with complex chronic illnesses, and come to us as medical refugees. These are folks who wander from specialist to specialist, seeking help and hope for their condition. Unfortunately, the attention they find prior to us is either disconnected or dismissive, and their progress is often slow since no one is addressing the root cause. This was unacceptable to me. We sought a better way. This is where Keystone Intensives were born."
— Dr. Martin Hart, DC, Keystone Total Health
Dr. Hart is a respected functional medicine practitioner specializing in complex chronic illness, chronic inflammation, and mold-related health conditions. His focused caseload allows for a root-cause approach to care, helping patients address underlying drivers and move toward lasting health after environmental exposure.
How Chronic Inflammatory Conditions Are Evaluated at Keystone Total Health
Evaluating chronic inflammatory conditions requires more than identifying a diagnosis or reviewing a single lab marker. Inflammation is a dynamic, multi-system process that can be driven by immune dysregulation, gut dysfunction, environmental exposure, metabolic stress, or nervous system overload. For this reason, Keystone Total Health practitioners use a comprehensive, pattern-based evaluation to understand why inflammation is present and what is preventing resolution.
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The evaluation process begins with an in-depth review of symptom history, health timeline, and potential triggers. Practitioners assess how symptoms have evolved over time, which systems are involved, and whether patterns suggest immune, inflammatory, hormonal, or environmental drivers. Special attention is given to exposures, infections, stress load, and periods of symptom escalation or partial improvement.
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From there, practitioners evaluate how key systems interact. This includes the relationship between gut health and immune signaling, inflammatory effects on hormone regulation and energy production, and the role of detoxification capacity in managing inflammatory burden. Rather than viewing symptoms in isolation, the focus is on identifying shared upstream drivers that may be affecting multiple systems at once.
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When appropriate, targeted functional testing may be used to further clarify inflammatory patterns. Testing is selected based on individual presentation and is interpreted in context, with the goal of understanding system function rather than chasing abnormal values alone. Not every individual requires extensive testing, and decisions are guided by clinical relevance.
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Many individuals with complex or long-standing inflammatory symptoms choose to begin this process through the Keystone Root Cause Intensive, which provides a structured, in-depth evaluation designed for layered chronic illness. This approach allows practitioners to integrate clinical history, functional insights, and system interactions into a clear, personalized plan.
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By focusing on patterns instead of labels, Keystone Total Health practitioners aim to identify the underlying factors driving chronic inflammation and support a more sustainable path toward improved regulation and resilience.
Transform Your Health Naturally
Lab Testing Commonly Used in Chronic Inflammatory Evaluations
When clinically appropriate, Keystone Total Health practitioners may use targeted laboratory testing to better understand inflammatory patterns and system function. Testing is selected based on individual presentation and is always interpreted in context rather than in isolation. Not every individual requires the same testing, and results are used to clarify root drivers, not to chase isolated abnormalities.
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Common categories of testing used in chronic inflammatory evaluations may include:
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Inflammatory and immune markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), cytokine-related markers, and immune balance indicators, which can help assess overall inflammatory burden and immune activation.
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Gut and digestive testing, including comprehensive stool analysis, microbiome balance, digestive capacity, intestinal permeability markers, and inflammatory markers such as calprotectin, to evaluate the gut–immune connection.
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Hormone and stress-related testing, which may assess cortisol patterns, thyroid signaling, and sex hormone metabolism to understand how chronic inflammation is impacting endocrine regulation.
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Nutrient and mineral status, including micronutrient and mineral balance testing, which can influence immune regulation, detoxification capacity, and inflammatory resilience.
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Toxic load and environmental exposure markers, used when history or symptoms suggest environmental contributors such as mold, biotoxins, or other inflammatory exposures.
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Metabolic and blood chemistry markers, which may help identify patterns related to blood sugar regulation, liver function, oxidative stress, and energy production.
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Testing decisions are guided by clinical relevance and individual history. In many cases, the most valuable insights come from integrating lab findings with symptom patterns, exposure history, and system interactions rather than relying on any single test result.
Here’s How We’ll Do This Together
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Book Your Keystone Root Cause Analysis™
During your initial one-hour appointment with one of our practitioners, the Keystone Root Cause Analysis™ provides a comprehensive, root-cause evaluation that reviews physical, environmental, and social factors to understand your symptoms and identify personalized next steps.
A Thoughtful, Individualized Path Forward
There is no single solution for mold illness. Every individual’s response, exposure history, and physiology are different. Our role is to help you understand your health patterns and provide a clear, personalized path forward based on careful analysis, not assumptions.
Chronic Inflammatory Condition Care Through the Keystone Root Cause Intensive™
Chronic inflammatory conditions care at Keystone Total Health is typically provided through the Keystone Root Cause Intensive™, a focused, all-inclusive program designed to provide clarity and direction within a structured timeframe.
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The process includes a complimentary discovery call, the Keystone Root Cause Analysis™ as a new-client evaluation, advanced functional evaluation when appropriate, a personalized care plan based on root-cause findings, and ongoing support with reassessment as needed.
