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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.
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As humans, we are made of energy and fueled by light. While nutrition and exercise play a role in our well-being and health, light plays a crucial role in us functioning optimally. New and groundbreaking research is unearthing a new understanding of how our cells function and the evidence points to the power of light.
Through technological advancements in science, it’s discovered that our bodies operate similar to a battery. Wavelengths of light give us power, while our overall health determines our ability to receive and maintain the energy from light. And this is where light therapy comes into the equation.
Science has proven that our bodies interact with specific wavelengths that benefit our bodies in various ways.
Red light therapy devices, such as light therapy masks, shine red and near-infrared light onto the skin, stimulating the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) within the mitochondria. By stimulating ATP, damaged cells heal, and new cells are produced faster than normal. But we’ll talk more about that in-depth a little later.
Red light therapy comprises both red light and infrared wavelengths, penetrating through the skin’s layers, right into the cells. Red light wavelengths boost collagen and elastin and improve cell communication. It penetrates superficially and helps aid various skin conditions.
Near-infrared wavelengths stimulate healing, increase mitochondrial function, and improve blood flow and tissue oxygenation. Near-infrared wavelengths penetrate deeply into the body.
At the core of your body’s healing capabilities are the mitochondria. The mitochondria play a vital role in your internal organs and tissue, including the liver, skin, heart, and muscles. It’s in charge of the body’s energy supply via ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
With both working together, they provide energy to our body and maintain the cell cycle and growth. This is why you’ll often hear the mitochondria referred to as the “powerhouse of the cell.”
Here's how the mitochondria is affected by red light:
Interestingly, our body weight is made of 70% water, with 99% of our bodies' molecules also made of water, making it a powerful component in red light therapy treatment.
Research by Prof Gerald Pollock of the University of Washington proved that water adjacent to a cell is structured water, also known as EZ water. This specific water forms a separation of charge, functioning in the body as positive and negative poles - similar to a battery.
While we’ve been talking about red light therapy, what does it actually mean? Typically, “red light therapy” refers to natural light treatments which deliver red and near-infrared wavelengths as natural sunlight using LEDs or cold lasers.
While you may think red light therapy includes all colors of light, it doesn’t. The term doesn’t include blue or white light, and it isn’t equivalent to full-spectrum light. Red light therapy doesn’t rely on heat, differentiating it from other light-based treatments such as infrared saunas and heat therapy.
Red light therapy is also known as RLT, photobiomodulation (PBM), phototherapy, LED therapy, LED light therapy, infrared therapy, low-level laser therapy, or low-level light therapy (LLLT).
As stated before, red light therapy works to heal the entire body and functions on multiple levels.
Red light therapy affects the body in multiple ways, including bodily systems:
Fascia
Fascia is the thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds virtually every organ, muscle, nerve fiber, blood vessel, and bone in place. While it performs as an internal structure for your body, the fascia also contains nerves, making it almost as sensitive as skin.
The fascia may look like a layer of tissue; however, it’s made up of interwoven layers of collagen and elastin fibers. The fascia is overlooked, yet over recent years, it has been the key to understanding how changes in one area of our body affect others. Red light therapy works to improve communication within the fascia network.
Gut-Brain Axis
The gut-brain axis connects the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions. Recent research discovered the importance of gut microbiota concerning these interactions.
Red light therapy can positively influence mood and neuropsychological issues by the following:
Immune System
Red and near-infrared light penetrate through the skin into the cells, which results in low-dose metabolic stress that strengthens the cells’ anti-inflammatory and natural defense systems. In turn, the body becomes resilient to infections.
Safe and low exposure to red light therapy improves the body’s response to external viruses and bacteria. Red light therapy can influence the immune response in the following ways:
Circulatory System
Red light therapy is scientifically proven to increase the micro-circulation of blood and support the circulatory system as a whole by stimulating the development of new capillaries which carry oxygen throughout the body.
Proper oxygen supply and flow are essential for the proliferation of cells, protein synthesis, tissue restoration, inflammatory response, and angiogenesis. In addition, circulation is also responsible for waste elimination, specifically degenerated cells.
Nervous System
The nervous system includes the brain, spinal cord, neurons, and neural support cells, which is your body’s command center. It controls your movements, automatic responses, and other body systems such as digestion and breathing.
Red light therapy affects the nervous system in the following ways:
For all forms of nerve damage, red light therapy offers non-pharmaceutical treatment options.
Stem Cells
Red light therapy shows impressive results regarding stem cell growth, maximizing the potential of stem cell implantation for various medical needs. Therefore, red light therapy may show positive results after surgery to stimulate stem cells which repair tissues and organs.
In studies, red light therapy has proven to stimulate mesenchymal stem cells in bone marrow, enhancing their ability to reach the brain. This research shows the possibilities of using red light therapy to heal degenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.
It’s clear red light therapy provides multilevel treatment to the body, becoming a popular natural and holistic option for both professionals and consumers, but where did it come from?
Light therapy technology isn’t new; it’s been around for decades as NASA experimented with red light therapy during the 1980s and 1990s. Over the past 10-20 years, red light therapy reached a breakthrough in LED lighting technology, allowing the production of safe and affordable clinical and at-home devices.
In 2016, Kaiyan Medical became the first leading manufacturer of red light therapy of affordable FDA-approved and MDASAP-approved light therapy devices.
We mentioned red light therapy being a holistic treatment option, but what does that mean. Holistic medicine is a full-body approach to healthcare. By focusing on the body, mind, and soul, the body receives the full support and care it needs to function optimally.
Principles of Holistic Medicine
Holistic medicine is based on the following principles:
The purpose of treatment is to identify the underlying cause of the disease, rather than treating only the symptoms.
While there are endless benefits the body receives from red light therapy, here are the six main benefits.
Photobiomodulation, in other words, red light therapy, has proven effective against carpal tunnel syndrome, mucositis, neck pain, menstrual cramps, temporomandibular joint pain, and neuropathic pain from amputation. It also significantly reduces the pain of hypersensitivity while improving sensorimotor function.
These improvements come after anti-inflammatory cells populate the injured area, providing long-lasting pain relief. In addition, it’s also been shown to provide effective relief by affecting the following:
Red light therapy has proven to be highly effective in rapidly treating wounds from burns, scars, bedsores, ulcers, surgery incisions, and diabetic neuropathy.
NASA strongly supports this claim as this technology was used in treating wounds. Red and near-infrared light proves effective in all four phases of the wound-healing process:
These processes are regulated by various factors connected via nitric oxide (NO) signaling release, adjusted by light energy.
An issue the body encounters when trying to heal a wound is low oxygen flow, and red light increases the flow of oxygen, speeding up the natural healing process. By reducing inflammation and increasing oxygenation of the wounded area, blood vessels can form, rapidly repairing the area, lessening pain and scarring.
By reducing pain, red light therapy eliminates the reliant on pharmaceutical painkillers during the healing process.
The human body receives energy on the cellular level, maintaining communication between organs and ensuring disease resistance.
A strong immune system works to protect the body from harmful bacteria and viruses at all times. With red light therapy, the body receives a boost of support as it releases nitric oxide and melatonin, two components involved in DNA repair and antimicrobial.
This process is called hormesis. Red and near-infrared wavelengths penetrate through the skin into the cells, causing mild metabolic stress, which stimulates cells to activate their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant response.
With the support of red light therapy, the body is better prepared to fight infections. Numerous studies have proven red light therapy to have the following effects on the immune system:
Inflammation in the body can be acute and topical (short-term, resulting from sprains, infections, and accidents) or chronic and general (long-term, caused by ongoing conditions).
Acute inflammation is a healthy bodily response; however, chronic and general inflammation can negatively impact long-term health.
As of today, the current treatment for inflammation is NSAID or steroid drugs, both having a detrimental effect on the healing process and long-term health. Red light therapy stimulates the body to activate its natural healing mechanism, reducing the health risks of long-term drug use.
Red light therapy decreases the number of inflammatory cells, increases fibroblast proliferation (cells that synthesize collagen and other matrix macromolecules), stimulates angiogenesis (creation of new blood vessels), and activates the body’s anti-inflammatory, antioxidant response.
The following conditions are connected with chronic and acute inflammation, all proving promising results with red light therapy treatment:
Red light therapy is extremely popular in competitive sports and performance. It offers natural and non-pharmaceutical treatment, which applies to many areas of the body.
Aside from the overwhelming benefits on overall health, red light therapy encourages muscles growth and repair by stimulating the production of ATP, which aids in faster recovery and better performance.
Red light therapy used before training prepares and strengthens the body while aiding muscle recovery after training.
Here are the scientifically documented effects of red light therapy:
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depressions, impacting 5% of Americans, specifically during the winter when there’s less natural sunlight. SAD is also known as seasonal depression or winter blues.
Many people treat SAD symptoms via bright white light treatment, mimicking the sun’s light daily. However, researchers recommend natural light treatment, like red light therapy, to help with light deficiency. Over recent years, physicians recommend red light therapy alongside psychotherapy and medication.
While many people are using red light therapy devices for at-home treatment, red light therapy systems are found in many clinical and professional settings:
Skincare Professionals: Red light therapy is a popular skincare treatment among Hollywood celebrities, including Kourtney Kardashian, Julia Roberts, and Emma Stone. Leading skincare professionals like dermatologists and aestheticians use red light therapy to help promote collagen production, reduce wrinkles, and treat skin conditions.
Health Practitioners: Health practitioners from all specialties are incorporating red light therapy into their practice. Dentists use it to reduce inflammation, physicians for mental health conditions, and oncologists for cancer side effects.
Natural Health Experts: Leading voices in the health and wellness industry such as Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, Ben Greenfield, and Dave Asprey strongly support the use of red light therapy. Paleo and Keto health experts like Robb Wolf, Mark Sisson, Luke Story, and Dr. Anthony Gustin also support red light therapy.
Sports Medicine Pros: The National Sports Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) adopted red light therapy to treat sports injuries. Top trainers and doctors, including Dr. Troy Van Biezen and Dr. Ara Suppiah, use red light therapy to heal their athletes.
Elite Pro Athletes: Professional athletes worldwide, including NFL stars like Patrick Peterson, UFC champion Anthony Pettis, and gold medal gymnast Sanne Weavers use red light therapy to enhance performance and quicken recovery.
Fitness & Training: World-renown fitness trainers, including Lacey Stone and Jorge Cruise, use red light therapy to enhance athletic performance and muscle recovery.
Supportive Cancer Care: The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) recommends the treatment of red light therapy for oral mucositis (OM), a common symptom of cancer treatment.
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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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Performance and recovery go hand in hand when training or doing physical activities, regardless if you’re an athlete or not. In fact, athletes and their trainers utilize light therapy to improve their performance and muscle health and optimize recovery. To expound further, this article will tackle optimizing performance in fitness, improving the recovery process, and breaking down the significance of light therapy.
Optimizing performance means paying attention to the body and how it functions, to live and train the body, and to find the best way to support its functions. Performance is not based on how hard or heavy are the weights you lift or the number of kilometers you’ve run; it is how effective your performance is and how you match it with your lifestyle (with the way you eat, drink and sleep).
On the other hand, recovery is about the effectiveness of the body’s healing process and the conscious effort of being in your best shape by enhancing your workout. It is also about utilizing the body’s tools and functions to effectively finish the jobs required daily.
Performance and recovery are correlated to one another. In exercising or training, if you want to improve fitness, workouts should be consistent. To get stronger, faster, and bigger, certain efforts must be made to increase performance levels. The recovery process is essential in health. It contributes to the workout; it is the downtime between training sessions or a break due to an injury or a period of healing from any exhaustion experienced.
Breaks like cool-downs, rest, and ample time of sleep give your body time to recuperate. They also allow healing for the muscles and tissues affected, strained, or damaged from workouts or training.
Performance is better when recovery time from soreness or inflammation is maximized. It also helps prevent burnout, fatigue, and possible injuries. If recovery is not made right, your physical performance may not reach its optimal state. Some athletes and trainers even make a recovery a priority over training itself. They believe that when an athlete recovers better than their competition, they will train harder in the long run.
Even if you are not an athlete, you should know how to let your body rest, heal, and recover properly from any form of injury or physical activity. Everyone has their own activity levels to maintain. It may not be sports-related, but everyone demands effort from their bodies on a day-to-day basis.
Regardless if you are an athlete, your body has limits. And if you push too hard, the body can break down and perform worse, especially if you didn’t observe any recovery time. Overtraining and pushing the body beyond its limits can affect performance in the short term or long term. Chances of injury are higher when you don’t allow yourself to recover, and it may also affect hormonal levels and the function of the immune system. The body needs time to process inflammation or any injury.
Inflammation happens when the body responses to danger or strain. It often takes place during a strenuous workout. When exercising, inflammation may indicate muscular damage. And when a muscle is “damaged,” it means that the tissue is growing and undergoes repair to get stronger.
Experiencing inflammation is a normal part of the growth and repair of muscle tissues. However, if you won’t set aside time for recovery, your inflammation may worsen over time and lead to greater health consequences.
Here are some ways that can help you improve your body’s recovery process:
The body speaks when it sends signals to the brain. Sometimes, we dismiss these signals because of training goals. This may eventually lead to fatigue and injury. When you experience pain or when your muscles are sore, it is important to give your body time to recuperate. You must also be aware of your heart rate, especially at rest, as it may be saying something about the state of your health.
Besides giving your body time to recuperate, deep sleep also allows the body to digest and process fat and recover from inflammation or damaged muscle tissues. It is harder for the body to recover from pain, strain, fatigue, and injury when you’re sleeping less than 7–8 hours per night. If you’re struggling with getting enough sleep, try doing meditation or speak with a doctor so he/she can advise you about developing a sleeping routine.
Getting the right amount of whole foods, good carbohydrates, protein, and good fat can also boost your performance and recovery. Lowering your intake of processed foods, alcohol, and sugary drinks can also help decrease inflammation.
The performance and recovery of our bodies depend entirely on our cells. When our cells are creating and using energy efficiently, our bodies recover faster. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) energy is released to give us power in what we do. The process of creating ATP energy works best when our body and cells are well-balanced, reaching a state called homeostasis.
High-quality devices are now available in the market to help athletes and trainers enhance the body’s natural healing and recovery process through light therapy.
Light therapy is a non-invasive treatment that uses LED lights to deliver red and near-infrared light to the skin and cells. It promotes efficient cellular ATP energy production and helps restore the balance of cells and tissues. Light therapy can be done before or after a workout. Some even do it both times — before and after a workout, depending on their goals.
Pre-conditioning with light therapy before working out can also help strengthen muscle performance. It can limit muscle damage and strain, lessening the chances of inflammation or soreness. When used after a workout, it promotes the speedy recovery of muscles and accelerates its adaptability to exercise. It also helps the body process acute inflammation after physical activity.
Muscles are composed of millions of cells that need to release ATP energy to fulfill the body's jobs, balancing exercise and stress. Light therapy helps improve cellular ATP energy, glycogen synthesis, oxidative stress reduction, and protection against muscle damage from exercising. Light therapy also helps improve blood circulation and oxygen availability, which allows better healing and recovery. It helps with the overall improvement of physical performance and faster recovery times. It also helps limit fatigue from exercising and strength training.
As discussed, light therapy promotes faster healing and recovery and soothes cells under stress when doing strenuous workouts, incurring injuries, and experiencing inflammation. When you set aside time for recovery, you give your body and cells what they need to function, thus improving your overall performance.
At Kaiyan Medical, we offer high-quality light therapy devices to help you achieve and maintain your fitness and performance goals. If you have questions about our products and the brands we offer, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will respond to you as soon as possible.
Ontario is a known leader in conducting innovative clinical trials, and the clinical trials community in Ontario has proven this strength throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. One innovative trial underway in Ontario is Vielight Inc.’s COVIDlight trial, which tests whether the recovery of COVID-19 patients may be accelerated by the use of a specialized light therapy device. This trial was made possible in part by Clinical Trials Ontario’s Trial Site Network through a connection made between Vielight Inc. and Impact Clinical Trials. CTO spoke with representatives from Vielight and Impact Clinical Trials about their trial and their experience with the Trial Site Network.
Vielight Inc. has developed a compact and portable device named the “Vielight RX Plus,” based on the science of photobiomodulation (PBM). PBM uses certain light energy to modify cellular functions and can play a role in the management of COVID-19. This clinical trial assesses the efficacy of the Vielight RX Plus to reduce symptom duration and severity in patients suffering from COVID-19.
The Vielight RX Plus device delivers light therapy to the sternum and the nasal canal.
“This device brings a holistic approach to the treatment of COVID-19 patients,”
said Nazanin Hosseinkhah, Research Scientist and Physicist at Vielight Inc.
“The device stimulates the thymus gland, creates nitric oxide, increases natural killer cells, acts as an anti-inflammatory therapy, and increases cellular energy.”
This unique, at-home study has the potential to modulate immune cell and cytokine activity in COVID-19 patients with an easy to use the device.
“We are very hopeful that this trial will prove to help patients recover from COVID-19 at home, and result in less burden to the healthcare system,”
said Hosseinkhah.
This randomized controlled trial, being managed by Impact Clinical Trials, is actively recruiting 280 participants who are confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. The trial was authorized by Health Canada in early September and is recruiting participants in Ontario and the United States. Participants are allocated into a treatment or a control group, with 140 participants randomized to receive the Vielight RX Plus device and the other 140 participants receiving the current standard of care. The trial is conducted remotely with non-hospitalized participants.
Participants in the treatment group receive the device by courier within 24 hours of registering for the trial. They are asked to place the device on their chest and onto their nostril for 20 mins each day. They then track their symptoms within a daily survey over a 30-day period.
“This is a simple, at-home study for participants to be involved in,”
said Andrea Berk from Impact Clinical Trials.
“Participants in both the treatment and the control groups are completely supported throughout the trial, with a 24-hour number they can call if they have any questions.”
This trial was made possible in part by a connection made directly through CTO’s Trial Site Network. The Trial Site Network, part of CTO’s Industry Concierge program, comprises more than 230 sites. The Network allows CTO to provide warm introductions to Ontario’s hospitals, research institutions, private research networks, and CROs.
“We have been able to guide companies such as Vielight in getting their trials up and running in Ontario,”
said Andrew Haller.
“I was introduced to Andrew Haller from CTO a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic,”
said Berk.
“Pre-COVID I was working on half a dozen connections that had been made through the Trial Site Network. When COVID-19 hit, those projects were put on hold. I reached out to Andrew to let him know Impact Clinical Trials had the consulting capacity, and that is when he introduced us to Vielight.”
Haller knew that Vielight had been searching for someone to take on the management of their clinical trial. “When Andrew introduced us to Andrea Berk from Impact Clinical Trials, we immediately connected and knew they were the right fit,” said Hosseinkhah.
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.
