Attempted all techniques of getting relief but still suffering from back pain?. According to a research survey, 20.3% of Americans suffer from chronic back pain. Which means it has become a part of their lives. So a question arises Is there any therapy that can help relieve back pain without risks?. The answer is Yes, Red light therapy aids in this regard. How will this treatment work? How does it help?. Red Light therapy assistance in many other aches too.
Chronic back pain
How does lower back pain occur?
The lower back has the involvement of 5 vertebrae in lumbar L1-L5. The lower back bears the weight of almost all the body. It appears to be tough but is insubstantial. The spine faces many mechanical disruptions, which sometimes lead to disc dislocation and muscle strains. According to research, almost 80% of people suffer from lower back pain once in their life. Lower back pain equally affects men and women. Mainly, 80% of people bear acute back pain due to some injury.
In contrast, 20% of people endure chronic back pain cured by medication or surgery mostly. Lower back pain may occur due to disc dislocation, injury, or spinal disorders. Osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, age, fitness, pregnancy, and genetics also act as a factor for lower back pain.
What is pain?
Before getting into the details of healing and curing, we must know what pain sensation is?. Pain sensation is a signal that something is wrong in the body. The situation becomes worse if the pain becomes chronic or if the mechanics of injury repeat.
Mostly, surgery and medications dull pain, but situations become worse if not properly treated. As the body will continue sending pain signals to the brain and the case will become even worse.
The use of Red Light Therapy for Pain Management :
Red light therapy or low laser therapy is a non-invasive therapy. It helps relieve the pain caused by muscle tears, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle breaks, and connective tissue disorders.
Does the question arise of how shining light helps relieve pain? Some relief by the warmth of red light therapy helps relieve pain. This warmth gives a soothing effect. Joint ache, hip pain, and back pain muscles tense up and stay up that way that causes muscle pain. Relaxation helps in lowering the perception of pain. Any light or hot bath achieves a relaxation effect. For longer results, utilize narrow-spectrum light. Red light and near-infrared light penetrates deep and gives warmth. The human body is mainly responsive to wavelengths between 630-850 nm.
Using the Red Light Therapy for controlling lower back pain :
Red light therapy helps pain abolition in the targeted areas
Cellular Energy:
Red light therapy helps in the stimulation of mitochondrial functioning. Light enters the cell and gets absorbed into the mitochondria, the energy centre of the cell. The Photonic energy converts into Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). Atp gives energy to cells on the requirement. These energized cells help in faster replication and repair. Healthier cells then start a quicker healing process.
Reduction Inflammation:
Without inflammation, wounds don’t heal—red light therapy aids in the reduction and elimination of acute and chronic inflammation. Reduction in inflammation helps in the fast repair of cells. Hence, it undergoes faster wound healing. Acute inflammation may be due to a sprain in the ankle, dirt in the eye, sore throat, and twist in the back. Some symptoms like redness, swellings appear to show that the body is in a healing process. Inflammation is also a part of the healing process of specific protein cytokines known as inflammatory immune proteins; these proteins destroy healthy cells and cause tissue damage.
Activation of Stem cells :
Stem cells aid in healing mechanisms. These cells are present inactive in the body. However, they travel through the bloodstream where they are needed and take the place of those cells. If any muscle or connective tissue is damaged, collagen must congregate the cells together by forming a lattice network. Red light therapy increases collagen production necessary for the repair of damaged muscles and connective tissues.
Increase in Blood Flow:
Poor circulation causes chronic and acute pain. Red light therapy or low laser therapy helps in the increase of capillaries. Hence, it increases blood flow. Due to the rise in blood flow, nutrients and oxygen enter the blood, and healing boosts up.
Pain Reduction:
It has been proved through research that red light therapy helps in joint pain as it provides targeted pain relief. Besides, typical pain reduction in neck pain and muscles occurs. Moreover, it also deals with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
How does red light therapy help with back pain?
Back pain removal by red light therapy is easy and requires no surgeries. Instead, therapy aids in the healing mechanism and boosts cell repair. In addition, it helps increase collagen production. Collagen is the primary structural protein required for the repair of damaged muscles and connective tissues. The only drawback of red light therapy is its low penetration in the body 630-650 nm.
After an injury, collagen production is necessary, so no scar formation occurs. Scar formation is also known as fibrosis. Fibrosis is alarming that may disrupt muscle functioning completely, leading to malfunctioning, weakness, and chronic pain. Red light therapy helps activate myosatellite cells, and these cells become active during injury or strenuous exercise. Myosatellite cells assist in reducing the acute inflammatory response.
Quality Approach:
Combining Red Light and Near-Infrared Light for utmost pain removal and healing:
Red light helps in pain relief but has less penetration in the body. On the other hand, near-infrared light penetrates deeper into the body. This light reaches deeper into the body and helps in the healing of muscles and connective tissues. The 810 nm light succour in tissue formation and wound healing.830 nm light helps in bone repair and wound healing process.
Research proved that this light supports the recovery of muscles helping athletes recover faster and return to their play.
Consequently, we can say that the combination of red light and near-infrared is best to deal with chronic back pain.
How can I treat my back pain with red light therapy?
Uninterrupted sessions of going to doctors and therapists can also frustrate you. So your question should be: Can I use it at home? Yes, indeed you can.
Utilizing high output led panels of the required wavelength can help you treat your back pain at home. Spine muscles are deeper; make sure you use light or high doses. Buying cheap led lights or masks is of no use because they don’t give any fruitful results. Instead, repeating exposing targeted areas for 10-20 minutes 3-5 times can be valuable to get rid of your back pain.
Results of therapy:
The appearance of results depends on the severity of your pain. The results may appear in days or weeks, but consistency is the key to get fruitful results. Once the pain disappears, don’t be too quick to return to your activities, the onset of pain may start. Utilizing preconditioning red light therapy may help in fast recovery. Also, you must take a session for 10-20 min after exercise.It also boosts recovery. Exercise along with therapy elevates the recovery process.
Are there any other therapies for Lower back pain?
Infrared light for back pain comes with side effects (850-1200nm). Almost 49% of the earth’s surface heats up due to infrared light. Severe therapy of infrared light can also cause the burning and damaging of cells. Taking a doctor’s consultation is necessary before using infrared light for back pain.
Red light therapy treatment
Recommendations :
The best results have been seen only by the consolidated effect of red and near-infrared light therapy. These are easy to use at home and are non-invasive. Taking 3-5 sessions a week for 10-20 minutes is enough. Stop fighting with your lower back pain? Try red and near-red light therapy for it and witness the outcomes yourself.