Light for pain relief has been used on professional athletes for many years. The military utilized light therapy on soldiers in the 1960’s, finding that it relieved pain and promoted healing enabling soldiers to return to battle sooner. In Europe, remote health spas have utilized the healing rays of photo-therapy for years. FDA released light therapy to be marketed for pain relief commercially in the United States in 2007. Since then leaps and bounds of new technology has flooded the market, challenging physicians, physical therapists, and chiropractors to keep up on new procedures and developments.
What exactly is light therapy? Early light pain relief utilized ultraviolet light and had much success in pain relief and with various skin disorders like, psoriasis, and eczema. NASA successfully developed LED lighting for experimental plant growth in space in the early 1990’s. It was through this early development further experimentation with LED light and cell development that a discovery was made. Cells that were exposed to LED lighting grew 150-200% more than cells not exposed.
How does it work? Infrared LED lighting stimulated new cells to grow and replace damaged cells. Pain relief with light will show very quick results on surface area pains. It should only take a few sessions, and deep tissue repair began to show for chronic pain suffers after a few more treatments. Infrared light penetrates through the skin and stimulates blood and the circulatory function. Wound healing from the inside out is a great advantage for diabetics and diabetic ulcers, as well as the benefits of the circulatory challenges that diabetics also face. Light for pain relief treatment was applied to affected area 20-minute sessions daily and marked results were noticed.
Who all can it benefit? The benefits include skin disorders, chronic pain sufferers, diabetics, athletes, cancer patients, Alzheimer sufferers, brain injury patients, and neurological disorders this may be just the beginning of the benefactors of this technological development.
Skin disorders acne, eczema, and psoriasis, experienced an immediate and long-term effect when exposed to infrared light therapy. If you have experienced the pain of any of these conditions, you know the pain that can be associated with them. Eczema and psoriasis in the head and scalp region is very painful and the embarrassment of flaky skin and hair loss is very difficult to deal with. The drugs prescribed have many side effects and many times lose their effectiveness with prolonged use.
Light for Pain Relief Instead of Prescriptions
Pain medication prescriptions have soared over the last 10 years. If that were an indication that we are a society in pain, than any relief that is not narcotic would be welcome. Chronic pain sufferers also have to deal with the some times deadly side effects of pain relieving narcotics. Stomach, kidney, and liver damage from medications are unavoidable if you want to live without pain. Light therapy for pain relief could be an answer to many people that live in daily pain. Supplements can help. Fish oil benefits joint aches and pains. Imagine that not only can pain be relieved, but also a healing process begins the day light treatment is implemented.
How many times have you heard about a diabetic with circulatory problems? By utilizing penetrating light therapy on diabetics, stimulation of blood circulation can promote healing. Frequent diabetic ulcers have also had healing effects of LED pain relief therapy.
The benefits to athletes and any one who has ever suffered a broken limb can be astonishing. Light pain relief therapy wand or wrap is placed over the injured area daily for 20 minutes. Healing promoted from the inside out due to increased circulation and new cell production can shorten healing times for individuals.
Studies on the effects of light therapy for pain relief and healing in cancer patients will be interesting as results are validated. Pain in bone marrow transplant patients has been documented as lessened. Photodynamic therapy is a procedure that has experienced some impressive results. A super molecule is dispersed to the tumor and when the infrared light hits it, the tumor is destroyed. Chemotherapy may be a limited thing in the future.
Alzheimer and brain injury patients are being treated with exposure to LED light therapy by sitting under a hair salon type helmet for predetermined times targeting the affected areas of the brain. Many dementia suffers have researchers claiming not only the stopping of the disease but also reversal of the effects of the disease. Brain injury patients, including stroke victims that are exposed to interactive light therapy are finding many success stories. This procedure is still in experimental stage and documentation of this research is still being certified.
The use of light for pain relief and many other ailments seems like new age medicinal techniques. In fact, they are not new age, they are right here and now and results have been and are streaming in certifying results. Light therapy pain treatments are worth a try for any pain sufferer, and hopefully in the near future, a common treatment for many ailments and diseases.
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