When we sit in our cars, though we understand the risk involved, driving is seen as a nonchalant activity. While driving, you can see people talking on their phones, texting, putting make-up on, or eating. No one wants to be involved in a car accident, yet people can be pretty careless. We don't have to convince you; the numbers say it all.
It is estimated that 3 million people in the U.S. are injured every year in car accidents. The average number of accidents within the U.S. every year is 6 million. Around 27% of injuries are non-fatal. Though it's the better option, it imposes the question of - what happens after the accident? You're never ready for a car crash, and you’re certainly never prepared for what comes next.
Post-crash, it is important to heal and recover the injury you may have experienced. Injuries that occur from car accidents are endless— broken arms, legs, torn ligaments, whiplash, concussion, you name it. Some are lucky enough to only have received minor injuries, but many accidents leave people with more complicated and long-term consequences. Either way, your body has gone through trauma after a car crash.
While the effects of a car crash can be physical, the trauma can also be mental. During a car accident, your body experiences an adrenaline rush that can mask pain and other symptoms, causing you to believe you aren't injured. Even if you don't have visible injuries directly following an accident, injuries can take days to show as your body returns to its regular state.
Most post-car accident patients go to chiropractors and rehabilitation centers to receive treatment such as massage, adjustments, and light therapy. We’re going to focus on the latter, as light therapy is a non-invasive treatment to improve injuries and overall health.
During treatment, light therapy is directed at specific areas of the body, and the light penetrates through the skin, ultimately activating ATP production. This, in turn, helps turnover dead cells and rejuvenate new cells at a faster pace.
Low level laser therapy (LLLT) has been studied as a treatment for chronic wounds, and higher-power lasers have been successfully used to close acute wounds as an alternative to stitching. The type of light therapy that you could use varies, as there are many light colors working and functioning in their own right.
Let’s take a look at one Californian chiropractor who uses light therapy to treat his patients. Dr. Marks has been studying light therapy, and works with all areas of the body, including bones, discs, joints, ligaments, muscles and nerves. After an examination, Dr. Marks creates a tailored light therapy treatment plan, focusing on combating spasms, relieving injury pain, and restoring a full range of motion to the injured area – all through light therapy. It’s common for people to grapple with spinal pain and dislocations after a car accident, and light therapy is an ideal complement to chiropractic adjustment techniques.
More and more people are growing their chiropractic practice by adding LED light therapy as a service, particularly since LED light therapy has proven to be highly beneficial for musculoskeletal issues. As one study said, “For over forty years, low level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) and LED (light emitting diode) therapy (also known as photobiomodulation) has been shown to reduce inflammation and edema, induce analgesia, and promote healing in a range of musculoskeletal pathologies.“ LED light therapy has been showing that it initiates a positive ripple effect at the cellular level, creating cellular enhancements that could potentially amplify the benefits of chiropractic adjustments.
Light therapy helps restore your body to its default settings, bringing the body back to equilibrium. It also greatly impacts the circadian rhythm, helping it run smoothly, rest better, and recover more quickly – even after major events like a car accident. Light exposure directly affects your sleep cycle, which is a part of your circadian rhythm, helping your body heal and regenerate through deep sleep.
As mentioned, all of this is possible due to light therapy stimulating ATP production and creating a better regeneration of cells. This gives space for a whole new set of cells that you would eventually develop no matter the light therapy; however, with the boost, they're produced faster and in an improved state. This is exactly when the body needs after a car accident.
Not to mention, light therapy consumer reports show that more people have been satisfied with their results and have experienced general improvement in wellness and overall health—this speaks volumes with respect to light therapy’s effectiveness.
Kaiyan produces MDA-certified and FDA-approved light therapy devices made for use of LED light therapy at home and in-clinic. With the help of light therapy, you can receive the same treatment you’d get from a chiropractor, right at home. It’s the ideal supplement for alternative health practitioners to use in their practice, and even something they can send their patients home with for more accessible healing.
LED light therapy is not new to the medical industry and certainly not new to doctors of chiropractic.
Studied for decades, the use of low-level light therapy (LLLT) — both LED and laser — has been making its way into the medical mainstream in the U.S. since the 1990s. And chiropractors have taken the lead in the clinical use of LED light therapy and are advancing the use of this technology for new applications.
This is no surprise to industry professionals and medical providers because this technology is a perfect pairing to what chiropractors advocate and bring to the medical community: healthy, drug-free healing and pain management options that are highly efficacious. Compared to the high cost and side-effect spectrum of many pharmaceutical drugs, LED light therapy can be a cost-effective alternative to drugs and surgery.
LED light therapy has the ability to increase blood flow and lymphatic circulation, decrease pain, and stimulate many cellular processes that accelerate healing. Plus, it has a high safety level, no known negative side effects is easy to administer, and is non-invasive.
Because LED light therapy can provide pain relief, wound healing and address neuropathy discomfort and various musculoskeletal issues, it is a mainstay in many clinics. Some patients also purchase light therapy systems from their chiropractors for in-home use between office visits for long-term therapy needs such as chronic pain and neuropathy.
It is also an attractive option for new chiropractors just getting started because it can bring substantial benefits to their patients while offering a fast ROI.
LEDs deliver wavelengths of incoherent (diffused) light to the body. LEDs are similar to laser diodes, but their light spreads out, unlike the highly focused beam of coherent light that emits from a laser. This more diffused light makes administration exceptionally safe.
This therapy is also known as photobiomodulation — meaning that light can produce a cellular change in the body. Photons of light stimulate the release of nitric oxide, which
is the body’s natural vasodilator, greatly increasing circulation in the local treatment area. Blood flow is increased to nerves and other tissues, improving tissue oxygenation that stimulates healing. This boost persists for several hours after a therapy session.
Research indicates that the benefits of LED light therapy include
LEDs have low power requirements and high efficiency with minimal heat production. Power levels are measured in mW/cm2 (milliwatts per centimeter squared). And LED lifetimes are rated up to 100,000 hours and can last for decades.
The most common device wavelengths are the following:
Light therapy is commonly used to treat acute and chronic joint pain in the neck, back, leg, shoulder, wrist, knee, and ankle. It can be helpful for arthritis pain, bruises, carpal tunnel syndrome, and musculoskeletal conditions. It is also used to treat skin conditions such as pressure ulcers, wound healing, and scar tissue reduction.
Even NASA has good things to say about light therapy. NASA issued a news release in December 2000, which stated that doctors at Navy Special Warfare Command centers in Norfolk, Virginia, and San Diego reported a 40 percent improvement in patients who had musculoskeletal training injuries treated with light-emitting diodes.1
There are distinct advantages to using LED therapy devices in your clinical practice. For example, Patients can be left unattended during therapy, maximizing staff resources. Large surface areas can be covered by the LED pad or panel, delivering therapeutic photons broadly and safely to the body's targeted area. And systems are generally portable and user friendly.
Moreover, LED light therapy can help you enter niche markets, such as peripheral neuropathy and brain injuries. These are areas where LED light therapy is appearing to be more effective than pharmaceutical approaches.
An increasing number of scientific studies show expanded indications for LED light therapy to treat neurologic conditions, especially brain injuries and degeneration. The advanced research being done by Michael Hamblin, Ph.D., and his group and by Margaret A. Naeser, Ph.D., at Boston University demonstrates that LED light therapy can positively affect the brain. Naeser’s 2017 study with veterans showed significant improvement after 12 weeks of transcranial photobiomodulation.
Increased function, better sleep, fewer angry outbursts, and less anxiety and wandering were reported with no negative side effects.2
Preliminary brain studies conducted by other groups using transcranial LED light therapy show impressively improved brain blood flow verified before and after single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) brain scans. These brain studies have implications for patients presenting with such conditions as traumatic brain injury (TBI), PTSD, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, concussions, strokes, and depression.
Nearly all neurological disorders have one thing in common: diminished blood flow. And increased circulation and blood flow are precisely what LED light therapy promotes.
More than 3 million new cases of peripheral neuropathy are diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone. LED light therapy has shown significant results in relieving this condition's discomfort and improving sensation, as evidenced by several studies.
Adding LED light therapy systems can help you offer neuropathy therapy as a substantial part of your practice.
LED light therapy devices have received FDA clearances that temporarily increase local circulation; and the temporary relief of pain, stiffness, and muscle spasms. Many practitioners are hopeful that the FDA will keep expanding clearances for this cutting-edge healing technology.
Salmarche AE, Naeser MA, Ho KF, Hamblin MR, Lim L. Significant Improvement in Cognition in Mild to Moderately Severe Dementia Cases Treated with Transcranial Plus Intranasal Photobiomodulation:
Case Series Report. Photomed Laser Surg. 2017;5(8):432–441.
Fallah A, Mirzaei A, Gutknecht N, Demneh AS. Clinical effectiveness of low-level
laser treatment on peripheral somatosen- sory neuropathy. Lasers Med Sci. 2017 Apr;32(3):721–728.
Mandelbaum-Livnat MM, Almog M, Nissan M, Loeb E, Shapira Y, Rochkind
Photobiomodulation Triple Treatment in Peripheral Nerve Injury: Nerve and Muscle Response. Photomed Laser Surg. 2016;34(12):638–645.
We can usually identify inflammation when we see it. The inflamed part of the body looks red and swollen, and it feels hot and painful. But in this article, we’ll find out why we experience inflammation, as well as its causes, risk factors, and how red light therapy devices can help reduce it.
Inflammation is our body’s natural response to pain, irritation, damaged cells, exposure to germs, and potential danger. There are two types of inflammation:
1. Acute inflammation
This type of inflammation happens as our body’s healthy response to injury or stress. We mean “healthy” because it helps the body recover faster. The inflammation happens only for a few hours and then starts to repair the damaged tissue.
2. Chronic inflammation
On the other hand, chronic inflammation can be excruciating and may cause discomfort or inconvenience. It causes an imbalance in the body, making it operate inefficiently over time. Chronic inflammation can be caused by viral infections, repetitive tissue damage, autoimmune reactions, and persistent and recurring acute inflammation. At its worse, this type of inflammation may lead to more serious diseases and/or conditions such as cancer, stroke, depression, and heart disorder.
Common Causes of Inflammation
Anything that causes stress on your body may lead to inflammation. These include:
Signs of Inflammation
There are five common signs of inflammation:
For acute inflammation, doctors normally recommend nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and paracetamol. Meanwhile, chronic inflammation may also be prescribed with NSAIDs, along with steroids and supplements.
However, these common treatment options help prevent inflammation symptoms but do not deal with the root cause, including improper cellular function, biological imbalance, and damaged tissues. This is also why lifestyle changes (improved diet, regular exercises, and high-quality sleep) and red light therapy could be of great help.
Red light therapy, also referred to as low-level laser therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation (PBM), is a non-invasive treatment option. This kind of therapy delivers wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) light to your skin and cells for multiple benefits. When it comes to inflammation, it can help cut down oxidative stress and activate protective cellular mechanisms to boost your immune system and protect you from diseases that may cause inflammation. It can also boost the generation of healing agents and antioxidants in the body to speed up damaged tissues' healing process.
Red light therapy can give your body the light exposure needed to function more efficiently, improve blood flow, and limit inflammation.
Inflammation is a natural part of our biological processes, but chronic cases may also lead to serious health risks that can affect the quality of your life. Therefore, if you’re experiencing signs of inflammation, regardless if it’s acute or chronic, please schedule an appointment with your doctor to get the care and treatment you need as early as possible.
In the meantime, to protect your body from the stress that may cause inflammation, you can do red light therapy either through a health provider or from the comfort of your home. If you need to purchase red light therapy devices, you can browse through our catalog to see the brands and products that we offer.
According to a pioneering study by researchers from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), light therapy is safe and has measurable effects on the brain.
Senior investigators Rajiv Gupta, MD, Ph.D., director of the Ultra-High Resolution Volume CT Lab at MGH and Benjamin Vakoc, Ph.D., at the Wellman Center led the study, which was supported by a grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) and published in JAMA Network Open September 14th.
This study is one of the first, if not the first, prospective, randomized, interventional clinical trials of near-infrared, low-level light therapy (LLLT) in patients who recently suffered a moderate brain injury. If further trials support these findings, light therapy could become the first widely-accepted treatment for this type of injury.
TBI is the leading cause of traumatic injury worldwide, and an estimated 69 million people experience such an injury every year. However, there are no treatments for this condition yet, largely because the underlying biological mechanisms are not well understood. It is so challenging to do studies with actual patients in the acute stage of trauma.
"The Gulf War put TBI in the headlines because body armor had been greatly improved by then. But there were still brain injuries caused by the shock waves from high powered explosives.”
Rajiv Gupta, MD, PhD, Director, Ultra-High Resolution Volume CT Lab
For various reasons, the number of TBIs has increased around the globe since then, but effective treatments are still sorely needed. For this study, a special helmet had to be designed specifically to deliver the therapy, an undertaking that required a mix of medical, engineering, and physics expertise.
This multidisciplinary team included Gupta, a neuroradiologist, Vakoc, an applied physicist, and others specializing in developing and translating optical instrumentation to the clinic and biologic laboratories. Both Gupta and Vakoc are also associate professors at Harvard Medical School.
“For this study, we designed a practical, near-infrared treatment based on Wellman Center research and working directly with DOD on the vexing problem of TBI, a condition faced by so many,” says Rox Anderson, MD, the center’s director.
Another challenge was optimizing the wavelength of the near-infrared LLLT.
“Nobody knows how much light you need to get the optimal effect,”
explains Lynn Drake, MD, one of the study co-authors and director of business development at the Wellman Center.
“We tried to optimize the wavelength, dosing, timing of delivery, and length of exposure.”
This was done through a series of pre-clinical experiments led by Anderson. These included multiple preclinical studies led by Michael Hamblin, Ph.D. Anderson and Hamblin are both co-authors of this paper.
Near-infrared LLLT has already been considered for multiple uses, but to date, few if any studies of this technology have been tested and none in patients with TBI.
It has been studied in stroke patients, and Wellman's basic laboratory research suggests it is neuroprotective through a mechanism mediated by specialized intracellular organs called mitochondria. It took several years of research at Wellman to understand the basic mechanism before the clinical trial.
The randomized clinical trial included 68 patients with moderate traumatic brain injury who were divided into two groups. One group received LLLT via the special helmet, which delivered the light. Patients in the control group wore the helmet for the same amount of time but did not receive the treatment.
Vakoc’s team at Wellman designed the helmet. During the study, the subjects’ brains were tested for neuron activity using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics, and the subjects also underwent neurocognitive function assessment.
MRI was performed in the acute (within 72 hours of the injury), early subacute (2–3 weeks), and late subacute (approximately three months) stages of recovery. During each visit and at six months, clinical assessments were performed using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Questionnaire, with each item assessed on a five-point scale.
Twenty-eight patients completed at least one LLLT session, and none reported any adverse reactions. Also, the researchers found that they could measure the effects of transcranial LLLT on the brain.
The MRI studies showed statistically significant differences in myelin's integrity surrounding the neurons of treated patients versus the control group. Both these findings support follow-up trials, especially since there are no other treatments for these patients.
The study also showed that light does impact the cells. While it is well established that cells have light receptors, “going into this trial, we had several unanswered questions such as whether the light would go through the scalp and skull, whether the dose was sufficient, and whether it would be enough to engage the neural substrates responsible for repair after TBI,” says Gupta.
It’s important to note, and he adds that for this initial study, the researchers focused on patients with moderate traumatic brain injury. That helped ensure their study could have statistically significant findings because patients in this category are more likely to demonstrate a measurable effect.
“It would be much more difficult to see such changes in patients with mild injuries, and it is quite likely that in patients with severe brain injuries, the effect of light therapy would be confounded by other comorbidities of severe trauma,”
says Gupta.
He adds that researchers are still very early in the development of this therapy. It is unknown if it could be applied to other types of brain injury, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has received a lot of public attention over the last few years.
CTE is a progressive degenerative disease associated with a history of repetitive brain trauma such as that experienced by certain athletes, most notably football players.
This study opens up many possibilities for the broader use of photomedicine. “Transcranial LED therapy is a promising area of research, with potential to help various brain disorders where therapies are limited,” says Margaret Naeser, Ph.D., a prominent researcher in photomedicine and research professor of Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine. She was not affiliated with this particular study.
Source:
Massachusetts General Hospital
Journal reference:
Longo, M, G. F., et al. (2020) Effect of Transcranial Low-Level Light Therapy vs. Sham Therapy Among Patients With Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.17337.
