Red light therapy is one of the types of light therapy and natural therapy. Also known as low energy laser light therapy and Photobiological regulation therapy.
Because red light therapy is an innovative healthcare technology that is painless and has no side effects, it has changed the way we manage pain, reduce inflammation and improve health. In recent years, many clinics, health centers, spas and gyms around the world have introduced different red light treatment lamp instruments.
The principle of red light therapy
Red light therapy is a safe and non-invasive treatment technique by shining concentrated wavelengths of red light and near infrared light (NIR) onto the human body. Light waves penetrate skin tissue. The energy of light activates the cells of the body, which helps the skin, muscle tissue and other parts of the body heal. Red light therapy is performed using 630 nm-700 nm red light wavelengths and 700 nm-1,100 nm near infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Unlike lasers and ultraviolet light from the 200 nm - 400 nm sun, red light is harmless to the skin and does not cause problems such as tanning and stain. On the contrary, the red light of red light treatment does not cause any pain when it touches the skin, and can even treat sunburn, anti-aging and improve skin quality.
Mitochondria are known as the "power generators" of cells. They are particularly sensitive to red light and are responsible for producing more cellular energy for the body. When red light treatment is performed, the red light will enter the deep tissue of the skin, which will stimulate the mitochondria in the cells, and more effectively use oxygen to make more adenosine triphosphate (ATP), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), commonly known as "cell energy", which helps to enhance cell function and self-repair to make the body produce more healthy cells. At the same time, healthy cells in the body also stimulate the healing of skin and muscle tissue.
Does red light therapy work?
The effect of red light was verified as early as 1970 by the United States Space Administration (NASA), initially for the study that red light can lock collagen, and later astronauts found that the wound that is not easy to heal after injury will be accelerated after being irradiated by the red light emitted by the LED. Since then, scientists have conducted hundreds of clinical studies and thousands of laboratory studies to demonstrate the medical benefits of light therapy.
Our cells need water, nutrients and light to thrive. However, due to the lifestyle of modern people with little exposure to sunlight, often stay indoors to use electronic products, resulting in daily life we only absorb a lot of white and blue light. It is difficult for modern people to change the current unhealthy living habits, but we can supplement the energy of the cells of the body through red light treatment! When our cells are at optimal efficiency, there are countless benefits to our health.
Red light treatment is different in that it does not need to harm the surface skin, directly penetrate the deep healing, so that cell regeneration helps heal at the same time, without causing harm to the body. The following is a summary of some scientific research on red light therapy so far:
Anti-inflammatory
One of the hallmarks of red light therapy is its soothing effect on inflammation, especially chronic inflammation that causes damaging oxidative stress in cells, and many studies have shown that red light therapy can reduce inflammation.
Inflammation is the root cause of chronic diseases and various diseases, and red light treatment rapidly boosts the body's self-healing mechanism by reducing inflammation and lowering the inflammatory response. Near infrared rays (NIR) can reduce inflammation in the body by reducing inflammatory markers, which can help relieve symptoms related to joint pain, muscle soreness, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Healer's LED technology delivers red light and near infrared light (NIR) deep into human tissues to optimize the function of cells, thereby reducing pain and inflammation in the body at the cellular level.
Relieve pain
Since pain is usually caused by inflammation, during healing the pain dissipates as it heals (red light treatment speeds healing). But if the pain is caused by chronic inflammation, red light treatment can reduce inflammation and improve body function (healing speed).
Red light therapy can be applied to:Back pain, low back pain, arthritis, knee osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative arthritis, osteoarthritis, chronic tendinitis, acute and chronic neck pain, fifty shoulder/tennis elbow (external humerus epicondylitis), promoting inflammation and ulcerating wound repair and healing, atopic dermatitis.
Different studies have shown that red light therapy can effectively treat morning stiffness and pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, significantly reduce pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis, and help treat chronic myofascial neck pain.
In addition, red light therapy has been shown to reduce pain and increase the range of motion of joints affected by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis: just a few red light treatments can reduce pain by 50%.
The anti-inflammatory properties of red light therapy stimulate cellular energy and increase collagen production, helping to promote healing, reduce pain and can aid in the rehabilitation of degenerative joint diseases.
Improve skin
Skin improvement is one of the most popular uses of red light therapy, and its effects include improving skin tone, reducing signs of aging (anti-aging), improving collagen growth, improving psoriasis and eczema, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, reducing orange skin lines and fat cell formation, reducing skin roughness, and treating chronic skin diseases. Red light can also reduce the damage caused by the sun, fade sun spots and smooth the overall skin tone.
The results of a study published in Photomedicine and Laser Surgery in 2014 demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of red light therapy in promoting anti-aging skin regeneration and intradermal collagen proliferation. The researchers found that the red light treatment subjects had a significant increase in collagen density, a significant improvement in skin tone, more elastic skin, reduced skin roughness, and fewer wrinkles and fine lines.
Red light can be used for many chronic skin conditions including: wrinkles, sunburn, acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea.
If you start using red light treatment immediately after an injury, it can speed healing and reduce or prevent scar formation. In addition, red light treatment can also activate stem cells, so that the cells become healthy skin cells. The activated stem cells stimulate nearby cells to grow into skin cells with genes for healthy cells, rather than cells from scar tissue.
Boost immunity
Light therapy has been shown to strengthen the immune system. Red light therapy is one type of light therapy that can boost your body's energy and keep you healthy. Red light therapy has positive effects on the immune system, including: Increases levels of Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP, which allows cells to fight infection. Stimulates angiogenesis, improves blood flow throughout the body, provides nutrients to cells, and removes waste products that are harmful to cells.
Red light therapy can improve the production of red blood cells and stem cells, red blood cells in addition to carrying oxygen to bring nutrients to the body, can also promote phagocytosis, thereby boosting immunity.
In addition, whether it is inflammation of the skin or inflammation deep in the body, red light treatment can help reduce inflammation. Because inflammation can interfere with the normal functioning of the body, and lead to many chronic diseases. Therefore, red light therapy can enhance immunity and reduce the possibility of disease.
Improve sleep quality
Thanks to the constant use of electronics in modern life, their screens emit blue light, which suppresses melatonin (a hormone that makes us sleepy).
In contrast, red light therapy helps calm and relax, and there is evidence that it can also increase melatonin levels and boost energy in the body by increasing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels. This can counteract many of the effects of sleep deprivation, such as sleepiness and poor concentration.
A sleep study of 20 athletes noted that red light therapy had significant benefits on sleep quality and exercise ability. Athletes who received 30 minutes of red light treatment every day for two weeks improved sleep quality, increased melatonin levels and better endurance performance.
Stimulates hair growth and reduces hair loss
Continuous use of red light therapy has been shown to significantly increase the amount of hair as well as the thickness of the hair shaft in both men and women.
Red light treatment can increase the blood flow to the scalp and stimulate the metabolism of the hair follicles to stimulate hair growth, thereby "waking" the hair follicles from a dormant state to an active hair growth state, so as to accelerate hair growth. Red and near-infrared light (NIR) pass through the scalp to the bottom of the hair follicle, stimulating cells to produce ATP and increase cell activation, which in turn promotes hair follicle regeneration. In addition, studies have shown that red light therapy can stimulate hair follicles and help restore hair growth after chemotherapy.
Eye health
A growing number of scientific studies and clinical trials have shown that red light therapy can be used for eye health and vision treatment, and that the right amount of red light therapy has a positive effect on the eye.
A 2020 study published in the Journals of Gerontology showed that red light therapy can reduce age-related vision loss. This condition is usually caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Specifically, it is due to a decline in the number and function of retinal mitochondria.
Researchers estimate that the retina loses energy faster than other organs: adenosine triphosphate (ATP) drops by 70 percent over time, leading to various types of vision loss.
During the study, when photoreceptors in the retina were exposed to red light, the mitochondrial performance of study participants over the age of 40 significantly improved. It is believed that a short period of red light therapy can reverse age-related vision loss.
Promote blood circulation
Red light therapy can activate cells in the body and enhance blood circulation and metabolism throughout the body, thereby helping to bring more oxygen and nutrients to our cells and tissues. Improving blood circulation is also key to effects such as wound healing and pain relief. Poor blood circulation, the body is also more prone to long-term inflammation, skin will deteriorate, the body will appear a variety of discomfort such as constipation and headache. Having good blood circulation is very important to the human body, and it is also a necessity for good health.
