For decades, inflammation in orthopedics has been regarded as an adversary—an undesirable consequence of trauma, surgery, or degeneration. Postoperative swelling, cytokine release, synovitis, and osteolysis have traditionally been viewed as pathological processes to suppress. Yet emerging evidence from osteoimmunology suggests a more nuanced reality: inflammation is not merely a complication of musculoskeletal injury; it is a central regulator of tissue repair and regeneration.