The value of infrared light therapy for pain treatment is of significant interest to the scientific community. As mentioned in our last article, Japanese researchers demonstrated the ability of infrared therapy to improve muscle elasticity, relieving both tension and stress. In another study, primarily conducted by Brazilian scientists and reported on in the journal Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, infrared light therapy was also effective for reducing pain mechanisms at the cellular level.
These researchers were most interested in determining how cellular processes in the neurons sensing pain were altered by the light therapy. All of the test subjects were already hypersensitive to variations in temperature (both hot and cold) and to a pinprick. The testers examined the subjects for 22 days after a single infrared light treatment and compared them to control subjects that received no treatment.
What they found was that for five days following the infrared therapy, the sensitivity to cold and to a pinprick was significantly reduced. The reduction in sensitivity to heat lasted much longer, up to 21 days. The researchers concluded that infrared therapy was able to provide both “fast pain relief” and “prolonged pain relief” for neuropathic conditions when they provided a combination therapy with radiant light at different strengths and levels.
The Brain Health Clinic in Sacramento is a provider of infrared light therapy. We also encourage our patients to take advantage of effective home-based devices that have proved beneficial in relieving pain from trauma, disease or sports injuries. For more information, contact us by phone or online to request a free consultation on the value of infrared light therapy for your specific situation.