Back Pain Relief with Infrared

Do you find that when you go on holiday and lie in the sun you tend to feel better? The sun includes all the colors of light which our bodies respond to naturally and the warmth you feel from the sun is from infrared light. This is Mother Nature’s back pain relief with infrared light.

If you live in a part of the world where you can get some daily sunlight you can schedule time to lie in it to make the most of the benefits. If you don’t have regular sunshine available you can buy products that can give you parts of that sunshine in your home.

The benefit of infrared light is that is can give some pain relief with it’s healing properties. If you’ve been considering buying an infrared product to help with pain relief for back pain then we will try and explain in this article how infrared works in pain relief and what products are available that you can use at home.

How does it work

Mitochondria in the body is where our energy is produced called ATP, this energy is carried to cells in the blood. Sometimes pain comes from lack of blood flow in an area which stops the mitochondria from doing their job and the nerves in that area recognise a lack of ATP production and send signals to the brain creating pain.

Light is made up of photons and can penetrate the skin to different depths depending on the color. Red light can reach a depth of 8-10 mm and far-infrared light can go as far as 20 to 100 mm. The distance it travels depends upon the amount of red haemoglobin it encounters which absorbs the light.

Mitochondria are sensitive to light so when using Infrared it can stimulate them to work increasing the blood flow in the area. The light energy stimulates the blood to release nitric oxide. This nitric oxide helps the muscle cells relax and the blood vessels get larger which in turn increases blood flow and oxygen. The increase in oxygen and blood flow can kickstart the healing process reducing inflammation and reducing pain.

Is there any science to back this up?

There have been trials done to prove the benefits of using infrared on patients with lower back pain. Read the full article here. The study was run over 7 weeks with half of the subjects using a placebo. The people on the study were given an infrared belt that they could wear on their back similar to this. The results of the people using the infrared showed a 50% decrease in pain.

How long should you use heat on your back

Most heat products will come with instructions suggesting the correct safe usage. Many do sessions around 30 minutes. The back belt say’s not to go over 40 minutes in one session. You should always feel comfortable with the heat and you can usually use it more than once per day if you leave a few hours between sessions.

How long does it take to see results

Some people have found relief after the first couple of uses, it seems to depend on if it is a recent injury. If it’s something older then it may take continued use to get a lessening of the pain. Red light therapy has been found to be tolerated by most people although the effects can vary.

Where can you get these infrared treatments

You can do an internet search to find places in your area that offer infrared treatments, you can get infrared saunas where you can do 30 minute sessions at $1 a minute. Some chiropractors offer red light therapy that you may be able to get on your medical insurance. That’s an option that’s worth checking out.

You can do therapies at home. There are many products that offer infrared light and far-infrared light treatments that you can do yourself. The costs are varied but compared to professional treatments they can be more affordable and still give you the relief you need.

Infrared light therapy at home

You may be wondering if the therapy that you can do at home can work. You only have to read the review pages on the products to see what effect these products have had on people’s pain. Products that you can use at home make it easier to schedule when you treat yourself and your family can take advantage of them too. Did you know that you can use light therapy on your pets too? There are different types of equipment that you can use depending on your budget and what’s easiest to use for you.

Infrared light therapy equipment

Hand held units

there are hand held infrared light units that can be placed on the point of pain, they are light and easy to use and can be used on different parts of the body. The only downside is if you can’t reach the painful area.

Infrared lamps

There are infrared lamps that are attached to stands that are useful if you have back pain and need to lie down to be treated. They are adjustable so you can point the lamp to the areas that need to be treated and you don’t have to hold it. They come with a guard over the bulb so that you can’t touch it accidentally because they can become hot when used.

Infrared wraps

There are wraps that can be worn like a belt around your back which are good for having light therapy while you are doing other things. It’s also flexible for using on other areas, you can lay it across your knees, over your shoulders or put it under your feet.

Infrared Mats

You can get mats of various lengths up to full length which you can lie on for your infrared treatments. The mats have infrared crystals which concentrate the healing infrared rays. You can adjust the temperature for different treatments and it can be used to sleep on. You are protected fromEMF and the treatments can be of different lengths up to 8 hours.

All the products above are FDA approved. Please check with your physician before using any products.