Infrared Therapy for Beginners—Your Guide to Pain Recovery

If you’ve been struggling with chronic pain and worrisome discomfort in your joints and muscles, you may find some comfort in knowing you’re not alone. There are about 100 million Americans across all age brackets dealing with body pain of all types. 

Thanks to science and innovation, infrared therapy is a treatment that can help with pain recovery from within. It’s becoming a widely adopted therapeutic technique that people with such health conditions have found to improve wound healing and even reduce and eliminate body pain. 

This succinct guide to infrared therapy teaches you how it works and its health benefits.

What Exactly Is Infrared Therapy?

Infrared therapy uses low-level wavelengths of red light for wound healing, muscle recovery, joint pain relief, skin rejuvenation, hair growth, improved cellular function, cancer treatment, and many other uses. 

It’s also known as infrared light therapy, red light therapy, LED light therapy, low-level laser therapy, photobiomodulation therapy, and up to 50+ other name variations.

It was discovered over 50 years ago by Endre Mester, a Hungarian physician. He found wound-healing and hair growth effects when red laser experiments were conducted on rats in the 1960s.

Since then, infrared therapy treatment has been adopted by numerous academic and clinical trials and used for patients in the U.S.

How Does Infrared Therapy Work?

A single 10-minute infrared therapy session can provide the required daily amount of natural sunlight your body needs in a day. Infrared therapy devices treat your body with wavelengths of light between 620 and 750 nm. 

Infrared light is delivered directly into your skin and body, just like when you’re out in the sun, but with the added benefit that this light neither causes sun damage nor emits UV rays. 

Because the red light wavelengths penetrate deep into your skin, it reaches your muscles, nerves, and even bones. This is why chronic pain stemming from medical conditions becomes significantly reduced when you use an infrared device. 

Your cells begin to regenerate and self-repair as the light hits on a cellular level. It’s a simple and painless procedure that improves blood circulation and oxygen distribution, resulting in faster deep-tissue healing for pain-ridden patients. 

Infrared therapy devices come in different forms, like portable at-home devices with multiple bulbs that emit red light or wearable apparel with embedded infrared properties that improve day-to-day function. 

Thermo Recovery’s wearables, for instance, have bamboo charcoal embedded into the fabric, which acts as a semiconductor. Once your body releases heat, the fabric releases infrared waves that cause cellular vibrations, increase blood flow, and accelerate your body’s healing process. 

Are There Different Types of Infrared Therapy?

There are two main categories of infrared therapy: near-infrared and red light therapy. Both function similarly by using light-emitting diodes to penetrate the skin; however, they have slight variations that distinguish their usage.

Near-Infrared Light Therapy

Near-infrared wavelengths are invisible to the eye, ranging between 700 and 1200 nm. The light-emitting diode for this category of laser therapy is longer and thus can penetrate deeper into the body, compared to red light. It reaches deeper tissues, muscles, organs, the brain, and bones. It can be used as an anti-inflammatory treatment for people dealing with pain conditions.

Red Light Therapy  

Red light therapy has visible light wavelengths that range between 630 and 700 nm. It doesn’t penetrate as deeply as near-infrared, so it’s excellent for working directly on skin issues, reducing fine lines and eliminating visible signs of aging. 

Using this therapy helps stimulate collagen production, treat chronic skin conditions, improve skin complexion and skin tone, and is safe for sensitive skin. 

How to Use Infrared Therapy at Home

Red light devices are available for personal use, so you can conduct infrared therapy at home by yourself and at your convenience. 

If you’re a remote employee who’s struggling with chronic pain like back pain or you’re confined to the house to rest and recover after an injury, a wearable type of infrared therapy device may be highly beneficial for you. 

Here’s how to use them:

• Use it daily because consistency is vital for optimal benefits.
• Wear it when performing light exercises like walking and other simple activities.
• Wear it while sleeping; take advantage of your body’s healing process while at rest.

What Are the Therapeutic Benefits of Infrared Therapy?

Infrared therapy has been effective in improving numerous pain-related issues like:

• Back and neck pain
• Arthritis
• Bursitis
• Blunt trauma
• Muscle trauma and strain
• Wounds
• Surgical incisions
• Sciata, etc. 

Other benefits of it include:

• Reducing inflammation
• Improved skin health
• Eliminating skin roughness, redness, and acne
• Improved low blood pressure and hair loss 

Who Should Use Infrared Therapy (And Who Shouldn’t)?

Is using infrared therapy safe for me?—this is one question many people ask because the thought of using laser therapies may sound scary. 

Infrared therapy is generally safe for everyone unless you fall into the following categories:

• You’re pregnant.
• You have a malignant disease or are undergoing chemo.
• You have a history of epilepsy or seizures.
• You have highly photosensitive skin (whether due to medication or not).
• You have an acute system infection.
• You have thromboembolism.

If you can stay outside in the sun safely and tolerably for 20 minutes, you should be able to use low-level light therapy like near-infrared or red light.

Final Thoughts

Infrared therapy is a safe and simple technique for improving chronic pain and skin conditions. It’s a perfect therapy for remote workers, athletes, older adults, and people recuperating from surgery who want to recover safely, quickly, and naturally.