When it comes to pain and reduced mobility, the most common culprit is inflammation. It’s estimated around 350 million people worldwide are affected by inflammatory conditions, including arthritis and joint diseases.
Now, there’s a common misconception that all inflammation is bad, and that’s not true. Some inflammation is good. Acute inflammation shows that your body is fighting against invaders, protecting and healing the affected area. However, chronic inflammation is different.
What are the differences between acute and chronic inflammation?
Inflammation can occur for various reasons and doesn’t always mean there’s an infection. Acute inflammation can occur from:
The immune system is triggered and releases white blood cells to the affected area. In addition, tissues accumulate plasma proteins, which leads to a buildup of fluid that causes the area to swell. With time, the area heals with the swelling and inflammation subsiding.
While acute inflammation decreases once the area is healed, chronic inflammation is caused by white blood cells attacking healthy tissues and organs.
Chronic inflammation can persist for months, even years. It’s linked to various diseases such as:
But is there a solution to reduce acute and chronic inflammation? Or do people with inflammation need to live in pain and discomfort? Well, this is where red light therapy can help.
Does red light therapy help inflammation?
In short, yes. Red light therapy helps with inflammation. But how? Red and near-infrared light therapy deliver wavelengths of light into the skin, penetrating into the cells. The wavelengths of light stimulate the cell’s energy production and reduce oxidative stress, allowing your body to speed up the natural healing process and reduce inflammation.
Changing your daily habits to reduce inflammation
While undergoing red light therapy treatment to reduce inflammation, you can make other small changes in your daily routine to further help yourself.
#1 Get deep and restful sleep every night
We tend to undervalue the importance of a good night’s sleep; however, sleep is crucial in reducing inflammation. Sleep deprivation can increase inflammation, and long-term sleep disorders can cause chronic inflammation. Luckily, red light therapy can also help stabilize your circadian rhythm and get you a restful sleep.
#2 Eat anti-inflammatory foods and stay hydrated
Your diet can help you moderate your inflammation. To help maintain your inflammation, eat a balanced diet of protein, fats, and carbs (whole grains). In addition, make sure you stay hydrated.
#4 Stay away from inflammatory foods
Certain foods can increase inflammation in your body. So, it’s essential you stop eating those foods or significantly limit them. Inflammatory foods include:
#4 Stay active
When there’s inflammation, it may feel more comfortable to be sedentary. However, that doesn’t help your body. To overcome inflammation, you need to move. Get active and exercise on a daily basis.
#5 Incorporate red light therapy as a part of your daily routine
Red light therapy is extremely helpful to reduce inflammation, but only if you’re using the treatment on a regular basis. Dr. Hamblin, one of the world’s leading photo-medicine researchers, says that light therapy can reduce inflammation.
If you’re looking to use red light therapy for skin inflammation, acute or chronic inflammation, it will help reduce discomfort and pain, while speeding up the healing process. Professional athletes and doctors use red light therapy to enhance recovery after sports-related injuries, and the results are outstanding.
So, whether you have inflammation from a sports-related injury, infection, or disease, light therapy can act as the best treatment in reducing symptoms of inflammation.
Luckily, Kaiyan Medical produces MDSAP-certified and FDA-approved light therapy products and devices for your own at-home treatment or even for your patients. We've worked hard to provide solutions for both patients and healthcare practitioners, catering to various needs. Whether you're looking to private label your own light therapy devices or for home use, contact our team, as we would love to help you through your light therapy journey.
