Physical activity results in a net anti-inflammatory effect due to a more powerful and longer-lasting activation of IL-10, despite activating inflammatory cytokines like IL-6.

“When you engage in physical activity, you do activate inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 being one of the big ones, but the response to IL-6 is the anti-inflammatory response, so IL-10 gets activated, and it's more powerful, so it stays active for longer, and so the net effect is anti-inflammatory from the little bit of inflammation that you've generated by exercising.”