What Light Therapy is Best to Help Manage Your Arthritis Pain?

While light therapy is an excellent tool to treat skin concerns such as signs of aging and acne, the full-body benefits that some LED devices provide are more than skin deep. Many people don’t realize that light therapy can also be a safe way to manage pain, including inflammation caused by arthritis.

Infrared treatment for arthritis can safely and comfortably reach muscles to alleviate stiffness and joint pain. Keep reading to learn how red and infrared light therapy devices work and how they can provide relief.

Can LED Light Help Arthritis?

A low-energy red light therapy dose can be a simple, drug-free, and safe treatment to improve arthritis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 24% of all U.S. adults have arthritis. The condition accounts for nearly 54 million Americans, affecting half of those working age between 18 and 64.

The most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and gout. Symptoms include aching, stiffness, pain, and swelling in or around the joints. The pain from these conditions can make even the simplest daily tasks a struggle.

While only a medical professional can diagnose arthritis, many sufferers find relief with home treatments. Specifically, red and infrared light therapy has been shown to relax muscles and relieve pain, stiffness, and spasms due to these conditions. Infrared light for arthritis pain can deeply penetrate the skin at home to help people manage their daily tasks, comfortably return to work, and perform the activities they may find challenging to do otherwise.

Red and infrared light therapy can help relieve pain due to conditions like:

• Osteoarthritis: When using infrared for osteoarthritis, a 2018 study showed significant improvement in osteoarthritis-related pain for participants.
• Dental pain: In another study, those with temporomandibular dysfunction syndrome (TMD) experienced less clicking and jaw tenderness after red light therapy.
• Tendinitis: A small study suggests that RLT may reduce inflammation and help manage pain in people with Achilles tendinitis. Achilles tendinitis is common among runners and sports players, and arthritis can often aggravate this condition, causing heel pain and tenderness.

Does LED Light Therapy Help with All Types of Arthritis?

Joint and muscle stiffness, arthritis, and osteoarthritis all have two things in common — pain and inflammation. With its ability to alleviate pain and reduce inflammation, red light therapy is an effective way to address the struggles caused by all types of arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are autoimmune disorders characterized by pain due to inflammation. In contrast, osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease rather than an inflammatory one. However, studies have also shown promise in relieving pain caused by this condition, giving sufferers peace of mind.

Osteoarthritis is typically the result of repetitive motions that wear down joint cartilage over time. While scientists once believed the body could not regenerate cartilage, several studies confirm that infrared light for osteoarthritis can do precisely that. Red and infrared light therapy can stimulate collagen production, providing the possibility of recovering cartilage and reducing the progress of degradation in the joints.

In a 2021 review, researchers found that red light therapy positively affected cartilage repair to reduce osteoarthritis pain. Light therapy proved effective in reducing cell degradation, inflammation and osteoarthritis progression and might be able to help repair sports-related knee cartilage injuries.

These studies show promise for anyone looking into LED therapy for arthritis treatment.

Which LED Light Is Best for Inflammation?

If you’re considering light therapy for pain, you’ll see different products that include red, infrared, or both types of light. The biggest difference is that red light works on the skin’s surface while infrared light penetrates deeper into the body. To understand how red and infrared light work differently and together, we need to review the physics of light.

Light appears as different colors according to its wavelength. While red light resides at the end of the spectrum with the longest visible wavelength, infrared lies just beyond it. As a result, infrared light is invisible to the human eye.

Light therapy devices use infrared and red light to stimulate blood circulation, relax muscles, relieve pain, and accelerate healing. While humans cannot see it, they can feel the warmth of infrared, demonstrating the highest natural healing effects in the body’s cellular structure. Combining red light and dpl^® technology allows infrared light to reach deep tissues and joints, allowing it to increase oxygenation, circulation, cellular repair, and cellular reproduction.

Red and infrared light treatment can provide general temporary pain relief of muscle and joint aches, tendonitis, arthritis, and muscle spasms. Light therapy devices can also destroy toxins or unwanted cellular matter. Other studies have shown increased rates of injury recovery and wound healing, with nerve cells responding positively to infrared.

How Does Infrared Light Help with Arthritis?

Reducing inflammation is essential to treating arthritis since many types of arthritis are autoimmune disorders caused by inflammation. Our products feature Deep Penetrating Light (dpl^®) technology to reach muscles and tissue and reduce inflammation. Experts believe red light therapy works by strengthening mitochondria, which are responsible for producing energy in the body’s cells.

It’s essential to understand what happens when inflammation occurs in the body to understand how infrared helps with arthritis and inflammation.

Inflammation causes chemicals from our white blood cells to enter blood or tissues to protect the body from invaders. As a result, blood flows to the area of infection or injury, often causing redness and warmth. Some of the chemicals can cause fluid to leak into our tissues and cause swelling. This process can trigger nerves and cause pain. Generally, a higher number of white blood cells will lead to more joint irritation, swelling, and loss of cartilage over time.

Light therapy works by targeting the cellular origins of arthritis. The red or near-infrared photons are absorbed by mitochondria, increasing their activity and helping cells work more efficiently to boost cell production and reduce inflammation. Research also shows that red and near-infrared light increases adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that helps the body store and use energy to repair damage. This process is commonly referred to as photobiomodulation.

Exposure to specific wavelengths encourages the body to release nitric oxide (NO) to widen blood vessels and capillaries. As a result, after just minutes, LED therapy can increase blood flow to the nerves and other tissues, circulating anti-inflammatory proteins throughout the body and alleviating pain caused by arthritis.

How Fast Does LED Light Therapy Work for Arthritis?

Infrared light therapy, or “low-level light” therapy, uses specific wavelengths to stimulate a natural response in human tissue to enhance overall cell performance on a microscopic level. Low-level light energy is a pain-free, effective way to penetrate several layers of skin and reach nerves and muscles. As the cells absorb the light, the energy activates them to increase blood flow to the area, supporting cell growth and regeneration. This combination of cell activity and circulation works to reduce inflammation caused by arthritis and other injuries.

A 2020 review found that most participants showed significant improvement in pain, function and quality of life when using light therapy for osteoarthritis.

It’s essential to remember that humans cannot see infrared light. So, you will only see red light when it comes to devices that use both red and infrared light. However, you can ensure your device works by taking a picture with a high-speed digital camera. These cameras, such as the ones on Android smartphones, can detect infrared light and help you confirm your device is working.

Why Choose LED Technologies for Arthritis Pain Relief?

Recently, scientists have isolated the benefits of specific wavelengths of light on the human body. Doctors know that red light therapy is good for arthritis and commonly recommend it as an effective, drug-free way to relieve pain.

The benefits of choosing LED Technologies, Inc. for arthritis pain relief include:

• Non-UV: Red light therapy has its roots in solar therapy, which is the practice of using sunlight to heal. For centuries, experts have recommended sun exposure to treat ailments from sleep disorders to skin rashes. However, while natural sunlight contains harmful UV rays, our red light therapy devices will not cause burns or harm the body.
• Non-invasive: It’s vital to use deep-penetrating infrared light to target joint inflammation and pain. Light therapy devices from LED Technologies, Inc. offer an alternative to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These medications come with serious side effects like heartburn, stomach ulcers, bone loss, cataracts, and elevated blood clots.
• Direct pain relief: Unlike pain relief medication that temporarily numbs pain, red light therapy addresses arthritis pain on the cellular level to get to the root of the problem. As the light reduces your inflammation, you’ll notice less pain.
• Anti-inflammatory effects: Acute inflammation is a natural part of the healing process. However, it can delay healing and cause autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis when it becomes chronic. It’s essential to reduce inflammation to promote healing. A major review in 2019 found that exposure to red or infrared light reduced inflammation, showing its clinical use for these conditions. Our anti-inflammatory devices can relieve arthritis pain and work to improve your condition.
• Increases blood flow: Light therapy can promote the growth of endothelial cells — the cells that make up the capillaries — and increase blood flow. Though cartilage doesn’t contain blood vessels, stimulating blood flow to affected areas allows your tissues to receive the proper nutrients. Muscle pain can impact posture and gait, and boosting blood flow supports soft tissue health, promoting proper joint alignment and preventing further arthritis pain.

Light therapy is a non-invasive treatment that allows people to seek help without the need for drugs by reducing pain and swelling. But there’s more to red light therapy than this. Red light therapy can be used to help with other body ailments, such as injuries, muscle recovery, and skincare.

Which Light Therapy Device Is Best for You?

Arthritis can affect many different areas of the body, although pain commonly occurs in the knees, back, feet and hands. dpl^® offers multiple devices designed to target these areas. Discover which light therapy device is best for you by browsing our infrared and red light therapy for arthritis:

• Back: The dpl^® Flex Pad helps ease arthritis pain by relaxing muscles and increasing local blood circulation. This FDA-cleared, medical-grade device safely and effectively reduces arthritis pain in the back and wherever else it’s needed.
  
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    4.37 out of 5

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    Flex Pad – LED Light Therapy Muscle Pain Relief

    Versatile Pain Relief The dpl® Flex Pad relaxes muscles and...

    $179

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• Knees: The dpl^® Joint Wrap is the ideal infrared and red light therapy for joints. This therapy device helps ease the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis by relaxing the muscles and relieving muscle spasms and joint aches. You can also use it on the elbows, ankle, and shoulder joints.
  
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    4.41 out of 5

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    Joint Wrap – LED Light Therapy for Joint Pain Relief

    The Most Versatile Joint Pain Relief Device The dpl® Joint...

    $179

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• Feet: The dpl^® Slippers are an FDA-cleared device that provides red and infrared therapy for arthritis. These unique slippers use dpl technology to ease pain in the soles, letting you relieve your tired, aching feet while at home or traveling.
  
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    4.65 out of 5

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    Slippers – LED Light Therapy for Foot Pain Relief

    Unlike Anything You’ve Tried Before Sink your feet into the...

    $169

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• Hands: Slide your hands into the dpl^® Flex Mitt to receive pain relief for arthritis in the hands. This light therapy tool targets muscle, nerve and joint pain at the source to soothe stiff and sore joints and muscles. Unlike a traditional heating pad, the Flex Mitt reaches below the skin’s surface to stimulate cellular recovery and blood circulation.
  
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    4.24 out of 5

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    Flex Mitt – LED Light Therapy for Hand Pain Relief

    Get Your Mobility Back Slide your hands into the dpl®...

    $129

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When you’re in pain, your nervous system is warning your brain that your tissue is damaged. As long as your tissue is in distress, the pain will persist. That’s where LED therapy can help.

*It’s recommended that you consult with your doctor before starting any new arthritis treatment program.

Choosing the Right Type of Light Therapy Devices For Arthritis

Arthritis pain and its complications can become debilitating. Fortunately, relief is possible. A safe and effective way to deal with arthritis is to literally shine a light on it.

LED Technologies, Inc. provides FDA-cleared, medical-grade LED light therapy devices that can offer powerful pain relief in the comfort of your own home. Many people who use infrared heat treatment for arthritis find that it helps circulates blood flow and reduces inflammation to manage their symptoms. By using a safe and effective at-home method, you can easily remedy the pain caused by arthritis and get back to the activities you love the most.

If you’re looking for a non-addictive and healthy way to manage your arthritis, see for yourself how dpl^® can work for you.

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