Red light therapy is an evolving treatment that continues to be researched. The essence of red light therapy is in the red light. It stimulates the cells to produce additional energy. Specifically, it stimulates the molecule in cells (ATP) that carries energy within it. By stimulating this, there’s the potential for cells to function at a higher level of efficiency. This means they can do an improved job of rejuvenating themselves and repairing damage to cells. The potential medical use of this kind of cellular growth should be immediately apparent!
There are many different conditions in which red light therapy is said to be a benefit. Unfortunately, not all cases are created equal. Red light therapy is still relatively new. While studies have been done for many treatments, oftentimes they aren’t large and haven’t had heavy duplication in follow up research. In some cases, there’s been no proof of some of the claimed benefits. However, since red light therapy doesn’t have much of a downside, it’s certainly worth trying! Some of the most popular ways it’s used are red light therapy treatments for hair and skin. What follows are some of the conditions that red light therapy claims benefits with a focus on those issues where the most benefit has been shown.
Skin conditions are arguably the most well known use for red light therapy. Many of the choices are cosmetic. Stimulating cells to rejuvenate and heal is what many of those so called “miracle creams” sold for hundreds of dollars are trying to do. Red light therapy has shown some success with helping to reduce sun damage. It has also been used to help reduce wrinkles and help a person with a more youthful appearance. Since it’s useful for rejuvenation, some people use red light therapy to reduce the overt appearance of scars that they have.
Dental pain is one area in which small studies have been done to try to determine the effects of red light therapy. Specifically, it wasn’t just for general dental pain, but for people who suffered from temporomandibular dysfunction syndrome. These people found that their dental pain was lowered, and that their jaw felt less tender. It clicked during movement less as well!
There are red light therapy treatments for alopecia and red light therapy treatments for pattern baldness. The most research has been focused around people with androgenic alopecia. Essentially, alopecia causes hair to fall out in patches. The patches are small and sometimes aren’t noticed. In some cases they can connect together and become quite noticeable. Red light therapy is often used with other alternative therapy for hair loss like aromatherapy, essential oils, massage and herbal supplements. People who use red light therapy for hair loss use an at home device. Studies showed those who used one grew thicker hair!
This benefit can come off as a somewhat broad topic, but wounds can occur anywhere on the body. Some wounds seem to resist healing and testing has shown some benefit from red light therapy. There has also been tests done on skin grafts, burns, amputations and other injuries. In these cases, red light therapy showed some benefit in assisting the wounds in healing quicker and avoiding infection because of that.
This is another sort of generic term that actually encompasses several different conditions. There has been some results for people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Typically, it’s the pain and stiffness felt when waking up and has been a short term effect. People who have pain in their achilles have also seen some benefits from red light therapy. The same can be said for people trying to handle the short term symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
