What is Photobiomodulation Light Therapy?
Photobiomodulation Therapy (PBMT) also known as Red Light Therapy, it is the absorption of specific parameters of light (Red and Near Infrared ) to tissues that are sick, injured or degenerating, resulting in accelerated rate and quality of tissue repair and reduced pain.
PBMt stands for Photo – Bio – Modulation therapy. Photo means light, Bio means life and Modulation ties the two together suggesting we are modulating biological functions with light or photons.
Dr. Michael Hamblin, Harvard, MIT is a leading researcher on PBMt. Dr. Hamblin sums up the effects of PBMT as follows: “The cellular changes cascade down into and benefit nearly every tissue, organ, and system in the body.”
You just get better. Wherever a person is, PBMt provides benefits.
What is Photobiomodulation Light Therapy Effective For?
Like plants, our cells need light to thrive. Specific wavelengths of Red and Near Infrared Light have profound healing effects in the cells in our body. This cellular regeneration causes a cascade of healing effects for entire systems and tissues in the body.
PBMt aka Red Light Therapy has been mostly utilized for the management of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.
The most profound benefit to light is the reduction of Oxidative Stress at the cellular level
What is Oxidative Stress?
Simply put, oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Both of these molecules are necessary for normal, healthy reactions in the body, but an excess of either can cause damage.
The Problem with Oxidative Stress –
Free radicals are highly unstable and reactive, they cause damage to the body’s proteins, fatty tissue, and DNA.
Damage by free radicals can affect cellular function and cause apoptosis, also referred to as programmed cell death.
While our bodies’ cells regularly die and get replaced, prolonged damage by oxidative stress has been linked to a variety of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, inflammatory conditions, and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Oxidative stress also contributes to the aging process and can affect skin’s collagen production and elasticity, causing wrinkles.
How can Photobiomodulation also known as Red Light help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress?
Photobiomodulation Therapy Comes Down to 4 Cellular Processes:
While there are over 6000 studies, the main effects that researchers seem to be sharing on the traditional approach to PBMt boils down to 4 cellular processes:
1- Reduce Inflammation – A reduction in oxidative stress and inflammation has been shown in nearly every study and this seems to be the most recognized cellular benefit – Inflammation is the leading cause of disease, quoted as being the root cause of 70% of the mortality diseases in the US.
These diseases include cancer, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.
A full body PBMt system treats the entire body – including the largest organ, your skin and the largest mass, your muscles.
The reduction in inflammation is enhanced by an analgesic effect on nerve fibers which reduces pain. Pain reduction with PBMt is a tremendous asset as PBMt is free of side effects, unlike opioids and pain meds.
The side effects of a PBMt session for pain relief are actually positive. Imagine taking an aspirin that actually heals everything else in the body with no side effects.
The entire body is illuminated by what we define as traditional Red/Near Infrared light. The PBM pods at REGENUS CENTER takes the benefits of traditional PBMt and expands them dramatically.
2- Reduce Toxicity – Toxic threshold is a point whereby the body is overloaded with its ability to process internal and external toxicity. This is the point where most naturopath and integrative medical doctors suggest disease originates.
What we want for peak performance is to minimize toxins and optimize nutrients and energy.
Photobiomodulation seems to detoxify the body of waste and free radicals. Adding a multiwave system (multiple wavelengths) to a full body chamber, might prove to reduce toxicity in different ways, at different cellular depths, and present different healing signatures.
This reduces the energy the body dedicates to fighting toxicity and reallocates it towards performance.
3-Free Your Energy from Toxic Overload.
Think of your body like a 1000-watt light bulb. You have 1000 watts available to manage trillions of processes. Stress and anxiety might steal 100 watts from that total, and stress can cause inflammation.
Environmental and food toxicity may be a root cause for leaky gut which escalates into cellular toxicity and inflammation which might steal another 200 watts.
Whole body detoxification from PBMt not only reduces cellular damage, but it reduces the energy devoted to fighting toxic overload.
4- Increase Cellular Energy – The current theory of aging is based on the dysfunction of the energy producing mitochondria. The older we get the more oxidative stress we accumulate and the more damaged our mitochondria become, the less capable we are of producing cellular energy.
Mitochondria to a cell, is like a motor to a car. ATP is like gasoline. The respiratory chain inside the mitochondria is kind of like a car motor.
When a 4-cylinder motor in a car has 250,000 miles on it, we may think that the life of that engine is at risk. Things begin to go wrong with the motor and a general rule might be that the car no longer runs.
Photobiomodulation rejuvenates the motor and rejuvenates old worn-out mitochondria into ‘giant’ mitochondria. This is analogous to replacing an old worn out 4-cylinder with a brand new V8.
The increase in energy production is coupled with the energetic draw the body invests into detoxifying itself and fighting inflammation.
This new healthy energy trickles down into the tissues, organs, and systems. The cells live longer, creating more healthy tissues, organs, and systems.
The side effects are positive. You just get better. You have less toxicity to fight, less inflammation, and more energy to fight it with.
5-Increase Circulation – Photobiomodulation seems to stimulate the angiogenesis of new arteries which increase circulation of nutrients to the cells. Now your cells are fed with not just energy, but nutrients and done so within a less toxic cellular environment.
In addition, PBMt floods the body with Nitric Oxide (NO) which relaxes the walls of the veins and arteries further improving circulation.
The key to achieving results with red light or photobiomodulation therapy is accurate dosage, this is a combination of wavelength and exposure time.
Different wavelengths are more readily absorbed by different tissues in the body, so it’s important to select the wavelength that is appropriate for an individual’s concerns and goals.
Additionally, exposure time should be incremental and consistent. For example, an individual session in the Light Pod shouldn’t exceed 15 minutes. More isn’t better when it comes to Light Therapy.
Unlike regular spas and gyms that are offering knock off version of red light solutions that don’t heal you at cellular level, Regenus Center prides in itself in making sure to offer only the best and opitmal solutions to its clients so they can increase energy levels, reduce pain and inflammation and gain their health back.
General Disclaimer: These services are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This Website offers health and fitness advice. This advice is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice, treatment, or diagnosis of a healthcare professional. Always consult your physician before beginning any therapy program. You agree that you assume all responsibility when choosing to act on any of the health or fitness advice contained on this Website. We reserve the right to amend this policy at any time without any prior notice to you.
