Many people enjoy the feeling and benefits of working out — but did you know that using light therapy in your workout routine can ramp up your results?
We know that feeling the next day after a challenging workout. But if you’re waking up the next day and can barely move, that’s not ideal. And no one likes post-workout pain and soreness.
If anything, the pain we feel after the workout usually has us avoiding any physical activity for a couple of days until the soreness subsides. Getting up from bed hurts; sitting down is painful — you get the picture. Now, why does this pain happen after a workout?
When our muscles are pushed to work harder than usual, it causes microscopic damage to the muscle fibers, resulting in soreness and stiffness. Of course, after the soreness goes away, your muscles feel stronger and more capable. Experts refer to this muscle discomfort as delayed onset muscle recovery (DOMS).
This is a natural part of the muscle recovery process and is a common effect of strength exercises, jumping, aerobics, and downhill running. However, don’t be mistaken: more DOMS does not mean you’ll receive better results. Usually, DOMS can be counterproductive as you may skip a couple of workouts due to the pain, or you may have too much inflammation occurring in the body.
So — how can you reduce post-workout soreness?
How red light therapy helps in muscle soreness recovery
Professional athletes have been incorporating red light therapy into their post-workout recovery treatment for years ahead of the game.
Red light therapy works by exposing the skin to red or near-infrared light through a red light therapy device such as Lumaflex. Light penetrates through the skin, entering the mitochondria, also known as the powerhouse of the cells where energy is created. The cells within the mitochondria are then stimulated via red light.
When cells are stimulated, they produce more ATP (adenosine triphosphate), aiding in transferring energy throughout your body. The increased production of ATP allows your body’s cells to repair themselves and produce new ones at a quicker speed. Thus, reducing the workout recovery period and accelerating the muscle repair process. As a result, red light therapy will reduce inflammation, relieve pain (Baroni, 2010), and enhance your athletic performance (Ferraresi, 2011).
How to use light therapy in your workout routine: a step-by-step guide.
Now that you know how red light therapy affects your body on the cellular level, the next thing to learn is how to use the Lumaflex red light therapy device. The significant part of red light therapy is that you don’t need to invest hours in treating yourself, nor do you have to go to a physiotherapist to receive this treatment. Treating yourself can be done at home, at the gym, or work — wherever and whenever you want.
The Lumaflex red light therapy device is the first and only FDA-approved fully flexible red light therapy device that you can use before, during, and after a workout or training session.
You wrap the device around the desired area and press the “on” button. Yes, it’s that easy. It’s preprogrammed to deliver you 10 minutes of red light therapy treatment anywhere you are. And yes, 10 minutes is all you need to receive the benefits of red light therapy.
Whether you’re looking to boost your performance through accelerated muscle recovery or treat muscle and joint injuries and chronic pain, the Lumaflex pad will deliver you the treatment your body needs.
Within weeks, you’ll be able to see the difference that 10 minutes of red light therapy can do to the body. In addition, the Lumaflex is 100% waterproof and portable, so if you’re sweaty after an intense workout, don’t worry. Lumaflex can handle it.
For a non-invasive and non-pharmacological approach to enhancing your performance, reducing pain, and accelerating the muscle recovery period, Lumaflex red light therapy is the solution you have been waiting for.
When it comes to pain, we could hardly avert it! Especially the muscle pain. Given that the human body has over 600 muscles, it is tough to avoid muscle pain. Evidently, one out of three Americans is affected by muscle pain annually.
Not only this, Musculoskeletal pain affects around 116 million Americans, which results in poor productivity, missed work or school, fatigue, and lost interest in work.
But doesn’t we treatments for this chronic pain? Of course, we do have several options. Currently, therapies available consist of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections, pain medications, and surgery. Each of these has its own specific risk profiles.
What we need now is an effective solution that is less time-consuming, low risk, safe and non-invasive, and yet cost-effective. All these features are available in treatment; we call Low Laser Light Therapy (LLLT). Light therapy has been in the medical field over the past forty years. Light therapy has been demonstrated to lessen inflammation and edema, promote healing in a range of musculoskeletal pathologies. LLLT is being accepted around the globe. This is an advanced, cost-effective, non-invasive therapy for pain that could elevate the quality of life while reducing your financial strains. The causes of muscular pain are numerous. Hence, LLLT helps people from all fields like sports, fitness, medical, and even old age.
In this process, light with a wavelength in the red to the near-infrared region of the spectrum (660nm–905nm) is employed on the skin surface. The reason for using these wavelengths is that they have the ability to penetrate the skin and soft/hard tissues. From various conducted clinical trials, this treatment is proven to have a good effect on pain, inflammation, and repairing of the tissues. The therapy goes from 30 to 120 seconds or more a week, depending upon the pain's severity.
Based on the tissue condition, the therapy can go on for weeks or months. LLLT has resulted in relief and reduction of inflammation, pain relief, and accelerated tissue regeneration.
But how does the light actually work?
Do you know that many acute orthopedic conditions such as strains, sprains, muscular back pain, frozen shoulder, neck and back pain, etc., are amenable to Low Laser Light Therapy (LLLT)?
The Infra-Red light relieves pain in a different section of the body and increases relaxation sensation while also comforting the muscles. LLLT has been shown to enhance the multiplication of cells like fibroblasts, keratinocytes, endothelial cells, and lymphocytes. Fibroblasts and keratinocytes are two major cell types that respond to the inflammatory phase in the repair/regeneration process.
LLLT can enhance neovascularization, promote angiogenesis, and increase collagen synthesis to succor in the healing of acute and chronic wounds. The LED light sessions have shown the ability to heal skin, nerves, tendons, cartilage, and bones. Low-intensity LLLT stimulates mitochondria and also enhances the mitochondrial membrane potential.
The peripheral nerve endings of nociceptors (also known as the pain receptors), consisting of the thinly myelinated and unmyelinated, slow-conducting C fibers, lie within the epidermis. This complex network converts harmful stimuli into action potentials. Moreover, these nerve endings lie on the surface or superficial in nature, making the LLLT wavelength penetration work easy.
Hence, with the rise of chronic pain in different countries, it is imperative to validate cost-effective and safe techniques for managing painful conditions, allowing people to live active and productive lives. Light therapy is constantly evolving in relieving muscular pain. It improves the muscle's endurance, reduces muscle soreness, joint pain, and inflammation.
It’s time to let go of the pain!!
Experience the difference with light therapy from Kaiyan Medical.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12605431/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27472858/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4743666/
One study randomly divided participants into two separate groups for an 8-week training program. One group received a red light treatment before every training session, while the other group did the same training without the light treatment. They found that the group receiving the light therapy improved muscle growth 50% greater than those with muscle training alone. Pretty amazing, right?
Another randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study using red and infrared light on the biceps demonstrated peak and average performance of more than 12% more than the control group. But while this is all very interesting, I’m sure you’re wondering whether Red Light Therapy is worth it and what it can do for YOU. First of all, I’m sure many of you appreciate the science breakdown, but some of you may not be able to follow, so here’s a simple explanation.
Scientists have discovered that our cells show an incredible response to light, but not just any light. Only in the 660–850 nanometer (nm) range which is the so-called red light range. This type of light energy penetrates deep into the skin, muscle, and joint tissue and stimulates ATP production, which you should think of as your body’s way of transporting energy to where it needs to go. More ATP means more efficient energy transfers in layman's terms, which translates to various benefits at a cellular level.
So, by exposing our body to the therapeutic red light, our cells receive this rejuvenating, anti-aging energy boost that enables them to perform every single function at a heightened level and now that you understand the science behind it, let’s a look at the 5 reasons why it might be a good idea for you to invest in this technology.
Sometimes we feel lethargic and out of energy, like our body is constantly running on empty. Then you spend some time outside on a nice hot summer day, and you all of a sudden feel amazing? It’s because our bodies rely on light as a source of energy, helping our glands to regulate adrenaline, testosterone, metabolism, and several other functions, and it has been shown that Red Light Therapy can increase testosterone production, which in turn can increase overall energy levels and even improve peak muscle performance.
After a challenging workout, your body works around the clock to repair and strengthen torn muscle fibers. We know this. We also know that nutrition plays a huge role in providing the body with the resources it needs for this process. But what most of you don’t know is that specific wavelengths of light play a role in this process. By enhancing mitochondrial function, red light has been proven to produce measurable gains in peak strength and reduced recovery times.
Injuries, repetitive motion, or aging, in general, can lead to severe joint pain and tissue damage. But the body’s natural healing response can be greatly accelerated by red and infrared light. Also, relief from pain, faster recovery times, and reduced arthritis symptoms are just a few more of Red Light Therapy's benefits. For bodybuilders, yes, Red Light is also great for reducing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. After all, it’s a type of muscle tissue injury as well.
Red Light Therapy can improve skin clarity, tone, and texture, reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and puffy eyes, help fade scars, acne, and stretch marks, even enhance wound healing and circulation, simply by increasing the production of collagen and elastin.
Remember, collagen is a long-chain amino acid and the most abundant protein in the body. It’s responsible for giving skin its elasticity, hair its strength, and connective tissue its ability to hold everything in place. In fact, the collagen protein makes up 30% of the total protein in the body and 70% of the protein in the skin!
Now while collagen is beneficial to the entire body, it’s most noticeably beneficial to the skin. This is because as we age, the epidermic (or outer layer of skin) thins and loses elasticity in a process known as elastosis. As this happens, we tend to show more aging signs and acquire more wrinkles and stretch marks. But by restoring normal cellular function, because red light stimulates collagen production, red light therapy can help keep your skin looking healthier and younger for LONGER.
You can’t argue that our minds and body are under constant stress because of our busy lives. Well, Red Light Therapy has been proven to calm our physical and mental state by reducing oxidative stress. Now, I cannot personally attest to that, simply because my stress is through the roof, and other times, I get my mind right and relax, but it makes sense. Oxidative stress is not just harmful to our physical health but also our mental state as well.
Athletes take exercise and training very seriously to maximize and improve performance. Whether you’re a competitive elite athlete or someone who’s just born to win every day, recovery can be one of the most neglected aspects of our daily lives.
Recovery: We hear it all the time from coaches and instructors, but it’s also one of the hardest things to do. The saying “Push yourself to your limits” happens also to have its own limits. Neglecting your training recovery aspect for optimal performance can take a toll on our body in the long run.
In this article, we show the importance of rest and recovery and some of the ways to speed up our body’s healing process, such as integrating red light therapy treatment.
After training or a strenuous workout, our body responds to strain, injury, or stress as a defense mechanism in inflammation. While it may sound damaging, inflammation is a natural response when our muscle tissue regenerates and grows from microtears. Going through the process is important to allow muscle growth and performance improvement. However, the inflammation needs recovery for your muscles to heal from too much strain or injury for it to maximize its healing effects.
Recovery is the process that your body undergoes to recuperate between training sessions or from the time of danger to its healing progression. Recovery works by giving your body time to regenerate muscle tissues.
Whether it’s a strain, acute soreness, or severe damage, your body needs time to heal. The time needed for the recovery process is also dependent on the severity of the damage/strain/injury. This means that the greater the stressor's intensity to your body, the longer the time you need to spend to allow your body to recover.
Many athletes have made recovery time a priority as it assists in the healing process of muscles post-inflammation. Giving your body time to recover can result in an improved performance.
During the recovery time, the muscle repairs regenerate and strengthens to tolerate a higher level of strain the next time. In other words, taking time to heal makes you stronger and less susceptible to future injuries. Having enough recovery time helps in optimal performance and longevity by helping the athletes convalesce both psychologically and physically to train and perform better.
By doing this, you can prevent future chronic problems, decreased sports performance, increased risk of injuries, or fatigue caused by inadequate healing.
1. Plan Your Rest Time
Planning your rest schedule and duration involves many factors such as the intensity of your activity, your age, and your skill level in sports/pieces of training. You may need less time to recover or more, depending on your personal needs. As a general rule, for medium to intense workouts/training, it is prescribed to maintain a healthy duration of 45 hours in between training.
Pro tip: Engage in Active Recovery
If you’re not suffering from an injury or severe damage, it’s important to incorporate active recovery periods during your recovery time so your body can maintain its active state.
Proper blood circulation is important in the recovery process. When the body gets injured, the body responds by dilating blood cells to speed up blood flow. Active recovery helps maintain good blood circulation and removes lactic acid out of inflamed muscles. Active recovery activities involve light physical movements such as stretching or yoga to allow proper blood flow and help your muscles recover and adapt better.
2. Get Enough Sleep
The Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is at its peak at night as we sleep. This hormone is responsible for tissue repair and recovery. This is why the key to a speedy recovery is to make you get a good REM sleep at the right time during your recovery period. Make sure to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep at night to ensure that your body gets enough rest that it needs and to avoid any future complications. Lack of sleep can deter the process of muscle recovery.
Pro tip: Don’t be scared of having a few extra hours
Especially when you are suffering from intense strain/injury, it’s important to sneak in a few extra hours of sleep within your recovery period. In fact, a 2018 study suggests that sleep extension, a form of sleep intervention, can significantly contribute to the success of an athlete’s recovery. One way to ensure you get a significant amount of rest is to make sure your body has a healthy circadian rhythm. If you’re worried that you’re having trouble sleeping at night, there are many ways to improve your circadian clock- including red light therapy.
3. Refuel your Body
A healthy diet is also one of the great pillars of health. The nutrients you take in play a great role in your body’s function to cooperate with the recovery process. Minimize processed foods that may contain too much salt, sweets, and alcohol. These types of food may promote inflammation and dehydration, which can hinder the recovery process. Make sure to eat a balance recommended diet of whole foods.
Have an evaluation with a licensed dietitian or nutritionist to assess your nutritional needs. Assessment may vary depending on different factors such as weight, BMI, and activity level.
Pro tip: Focus on your Protein Intake
Protein is the key macronutrient that is responsible for muscle building and repair. It has amino acids that are metabolized by your body to ease muscle inflammation and build stronger muscles. Skip gulping on those protein supplements and focus instead on taking protein from whole foods such as lean meat, eggs, and cheese.
4. Listen to your Body
There can be all kinds of rules in recovery to maximize healing, but you can’t go wrong with paying attention to your body’s signals. Often, your body’s responses can be neglected. However, overlooking these signals can result in overtraining, which puts your body at risk of having more problems in the long run.
Despite your recovery time or period, if your body signals indicate pain and soreness, it’s important to give it time to recover better to address the issue. Aside from obvious physiological signs, pay attention to your heart rate variability, indicating your body’s adaptability to stress and your overall cardiovascular fitness.
5. Incorporate Red Light Therapy
Thanks to innovative medical devices, athletes and trainers have utilized more advanced healing modalities like red light therapy. Red Light Therapy is a popular, non-invasive, and effective light therapy treatment that can improve blood circulation essential for tissue and muscle recovery. It works by using LED to deliver wavelengths that deeply penetrates the skin and cells.
Integrating red light therapy in your recovery process can speed up muscle repair and minimize pain and swelling. The therapy accelerates the healing process by enhancing macrophage activity responsible for the white blood cell’s healing and anti-inflammatory response.
Pro tip: Try using Light Therapy Body Pad
Kaiyan Medical’s Light Therapy Body pad utilizes a high-end, medical-grade dual optical energy pad that uses 30 pieces of red light and 30 pieces of infrared light. The therapy's duality promotes deep treatment by treating injured skin surface while repairing deeper muscle, bones, tissue, and joint damage. The therapy pad is specially made with a broader light spectrum to increase absorption and penetration so you can maximize the treatment’s benefits. It’s a safe, non-invasive treatment that you can add to your recovery process so you can get back in the game stronger than ever.
Recovery and Rest are just as important as optimizing and improving performance. Allowing your body to maximize its natural healing processes can improve performance and overall better physical and mental health.
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