How Does Red Light Therapy Work?
Red light therapy, sometimes referred to as LLLT or infrared light therapy, has been researched and studied for years. Very simply, it delivers an energy boost to the cells, which provides wide-ranging health benefits. Red and infrared light can penetrate your pet’s tissue, muscles, tendons, and even bone to increase blood circulation, further promoting and boosting the healing process.
Red light works by photobiomodulation by stimulating adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy source for cells. ATP interacts with the mitochondria (powerhouses in cells) to stimulate oxidative metabolism, which is essentially the conversion of oxygen and carbohydrates to energy. This entire process is sometimes called mitochondrial photostimulation. This is just a fancy way of saying that red light gives the body’s cells increased energy. Because of this, cells can perform their normal functions faster. In fact, some studies have demonstrated cellular functionality improving by up to 200%!
What Conditions Does Red Light Therapy Help With?
Because of the way it energizes the cells, red light can help with a number of health conditions in animals, including the following:
- Joint pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Muscle soreness
- Healing injuries including disc injuries, wounds, skin infections, etc
- Inflammation
Infrared light should not be used in young animals over their joints and should not be used in pregnant animals over their babies!
