An anti-inflammatory cuts the signal that produces pain. Resolution is something else: it’s the biological program that closes the inflammatory process in an orderly way and leaves the tissue repaired. Blocking brings relief sooner; resolving finishes the job. And if you train, that difference shapes your adaptations.<\/p>\n
For decades we treated inflammation as an enemy to be defeated: if it hurts or swells, switch it off as fast as possible with anti-inflammatories. But the science of the last twenty years has revealed something rather different and a good deal more interesting: inflammation doesn\u2019t end because it passively fades out, but because the body activates a program of its own to resolve it. And that program has protagonists with a name: SPM, or Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators.<\/p>\n
At Sports ProResolve we think understanding this difference, blocking versus resolving, changes how we ought to think about sports recovery altogether. If the topic is new to you, we explain what SPM are and where they come from elsewhere. This article goes straight to the underlying difference.<\/p>\n
When you train hard, pick up an injury, or your body fights an infection, inflammation is the first line of defense. It’s a necessary process: it increases blood flow, recruits immune cells, and prepares the tissue to repair itself. The problem isn’t that inflammation appears, but that it stays longer than it needs to.<\/p>\n
For a long time it was assumed inflammation resolved simply because the signals that started it diluted over time, passively. The work of Charles Serhan at Harvard University changed that paradigm in the early 2000s: he discovered that resolution is an active process, orchestrated by specific molecules the body makes to signal mission accomplished and set the clean-up and repair of tissue in motion.<\/p>\n
NSAIDs work by blocking enzymes, mainly COX, that produce pro-inflammatory molecules. It’s an effective strategy for short-term symptom relief, but it has an important limitation: they don’t accelerate resolution. And there’s published work suggesting their systematic use may interfere with the natural signals that set it in motion (Peake et al., 2017; Markworth et al., 2020).<\/p>\n
SPM work the other way round. Rather than suppressing the inflammatory response, they take part in closing it in an orderly way: slowing the arrival of new inflammatory cells, encouraging the exit of those that have done their job, and opening the door to the repair phase.<\/p>\n
They also do something no anti-inflammatory does: they activate a clean-up program called efferocytosis, through which macrophages clear away cellular debris and immune cells that are no longer needed, leaving the tissue ready to regenerate.<\/p>\n
It’s the difference between silencing an alarm and switching off the system that set it off so the building can go back to normal.<\/p>\n High-intensity training generates muscle micro-damage and a controlled inflammatory response as part of the normal adaptation process. That process is desirable: it’s partly how a muscle gets stronger. The aim isn’t to eliminate inflammation, but to make sure the body has what it needs to close it at the right moment.<\/p>\n When that closure happens on time, the tissue moves into the repair phase sooner and the body is available for the next stimulus. When it doesn’t, the response drags on and the adaptation cycle suffers. It’s the difference between stringing sessions together and dragging yourself through them.<\/p>\n And there’s one detail that governs all of the above: SPM are synthesized from EPA and DHA, but that conversion isn’t always efficient. If the body doesn’t complete it properly, it can fall short of these mediators precisely when recovery demand is highest. We explain that in detail in the article on the difference between omega-3 and SPM.<\/p>\n At Sports ProResolve we don’t start from the idea of fighting inflammation, but of giving the body what it needs to resolve it well. It’s an approach that respects the biology: acute inflammation is an ally of performance and adaptation when it resolves on time; the problem arises when it becomes chronic or is simply blocked.<\/p>\n That’s why Sports ProResolve is formulated with Lipinova®<\/sup> SPM, which supplies these mediators directly rather than leaving the body to manufacture them. Understanding SPM isn’t just a piece of biochemical trivia: it’s an invitation to think about sports recovery through a different lens, one focused on supporting the body’s natural processes rather than only interrupting them.<\/p>\n These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n
<\/strong><\/th> Conventional anti-inflammatory<\/strong><\/th> SPM<\/strong><\/th><\/tr>\n What it does<\/td> Blocks the COX enzyme<\/td> Takes part in the signal that closes the process<\/td><\/tr>\n Effect on pain<\/td> Reduces it short term<\/td> Not its function<\/td><\/tr>\n Effect on resolution<\/td> Doesn’t accelerate it. May interfere<\/td> This is its function<\/td><\/tr>\n Efferocytosis<\/td> Doesn’t activate it<\/td> Activates it<\/td><\/tr>\n Origin<\/td> Pharmaceutical<\/td> Molecule the body produces itself<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table><\/figure>\n Why this matters if you train<\/h2>\n
The shift in thinking we are proposing<\/h2>\n
Legal<\/h2>\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n