About red light therapy
Red light therapy is a treatment method that stimulates the natural processes of the body. This helps with physical complaints and conditions, skin problems and can even improve your appearance. What's more, it not only helps people, but animals too! This form of light therapy is gaining increasing attention because it supports your body's self-healing capacity. Read here how red light therapy works and the science behind it.
What is red light therapy?
Red light therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy or photobiomodulation, uses red light that acts on the cells. The light often consists of wavelengths of 600-900 nanometres and penetrates the skin, tissues and cells. This stimulates the body's natural processes, such as mitochondrial function, which contributes to rapid healing of complaints and conditions, pain relief, inflammation reduction and cell regeneration.
How red light therapy works
When red light penetrates the skin and tissues, it is absorbed by the mitochondria of the cells. This light stimulates an important enzyme in the mitochondria, namely cytochrome c oxidase, which leads to increased production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the energy source that cells use to function, repair and renew themselves.
Thanks to the stimulation of ATP production, cellular processes are accelerated and strengthened. This allows damaged cells to repair themselves more quickly, tissues to regenerate better and inflammatory reactions to disappear. Red light therapy therefore not only promotes wound healing and tissue repair, but can also help with complaints such as injuries and conditions such as osteoarthritis, and can tackle conditions and complaints from within with intranasal red light therapy.
The science behind red light therapy
Red light therapy, low-level laser therapy, or photobiomodulation has been researched for many years. Thousands of studies have demonstrated the effect of this form of light therapy on a wide range of issues. The studies show that this therapy can be effective in a wide range of applications, including:
- Wound healing
- Reduction of inflammation
- Pain relief for chronic pain
- Muscle recovery and performance
These are just a few of the applications in which this form of light therapy can help. It can also help with other complaints and conditions such as type 2 diabetes, migraine and ME/CFS.
The details of how it works
The mechanism of action of red light therapy is based on the ability of specific wavelengths of light to influence cellular functions. The solution lies in the mitochondria, the energy factories of our cells. When red and near-infrared light (often around 660 nm and 850 nm) penetrates the skin and deeper tissues, it is absorbed by an enzyme in the mitochondria called cytochrome c oxidase (CCO).
This absorption leads to the following biological reactions:
- Increased ATP production: CCO is activated, leading to a more efficient conversion of oxygen and nutrients into ATP, the cell's energy source.
- Reduction of oxidative stress: Through improvement of mitochondrial function and increase in antioxidant activity.
- Modulation of inflammatory processes: There is a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines, while regenerative growth factors are stimulated
- Improved blood flow: Red light stimulates the production of nitric oxide (NO), a natural vasodilator, which improves blood circulation and brings oxygen-rich blood to damaged tissue more quickly
In short, red light therapy activates a natural healing process by helping the body to repair itself more quickly and efficiently at a cellular level.
Applications of red light therapy
Red light therapy helps with a lot of complaints and conditions, for humans and animals. Among other things, it helps with:
- Pain relief and recovery
- Relief of inflammation
- Skin improvement
- Mental health
The benefits of red light therapy
This form of light therapy is a non-invasive treatment. This means that there are no known side effects when used correctly. Another advantage is that a session can be done from home, eliminating the need to visit a professional such as a physiotherapist. You can treat yourself from home, and with a device such as the PowerCure, it is even possible to treat your housemates and pets.
In addition, there is not one device per complaint. Most red light therapy devices can be used for a wide range of applications, meaning you only need to purchase a laser once.
Our red light therapy devices
