The latest “it” treatment for muscle recovery, red light therapy has been getting high marks from experts

Getting a good night’s sleep is the single most effective way to speed up your recovery from exercise, say the experts. But after you’ve got your sleep routine down, there are a lot of high-tech instruments available to speed up your body’s recuperation after a workout. Red light therapy is the newest treatment to attract the attention of fit-fluent people and elite athletes.

A registered nurse and board-certified health specialist in hypothyroidism, Julia Walker, RN, BSN, says, “Red light therapy has been around for a while, but in recent months it has become the new ‘it’ treatment.” Is red light treatment for muscle rehabilitation just a fad, or is it effective?

Exactly what is red light therapy?

Makeup-Tok and Beauty-Tube viewers are likely familiar with LED therapy, also known as multiple light-emitting diode therapy. This, though, is the gist of it: LED therapy is the use of light to treat medical conditions without inducing any internal changes in the patient. Low-wavelength (red) light from LEDs is applied to the skin in a process known as red light therapy.

According to Walker, red light therapy is gaining popularity because “it is 90 percent more efficient and effective than any other kinds of light,” meaning it can penetrate deeper into the skin. According to her research, red light therapy has the added benefit of being safe for usage on a wide range of skin tones and disorders.

How does red light therapy help?

Dermatologists, doctors, and fitness experts have all attested to the veracity of the claims that red light has positive effects on one’s appearance and health. When using this treatment, “the wavelengths emitted can reach deep into the skin to the mitochondria of the cells,” as Walker puts it. The mitochondria are the power plants of every cell, as you may recall from your high school biology classes (or that viral meme about high school biology).

Dr. Pardi explains that mitochondria have light-absorbing molecules inside them called chromophores. To put it another way, “when you’re exposed to this kind of light, mitochondria are pushed to make more ATP, the energy molecule that powers most of our metabolic functions.” What’s the end result? Walker claims that this improves cellular efficiency.

According to Walker, increased cellular energy leads to increased collagen production, which in turn lessens hyperpigmentation, improves skin suppleness, and brightens the overall complexion. She explains that this is why chronic skin disorders like psoriasis are sometimes treated with red light therapy. In addition to its cosmetic effects, red light has been linked to a variety of health benefits, including the stimulation of cell regeneration, enhancement of blood flow, and decrease in inflammation.

To what end, then, are people who care about their physical health flocking to this trend?

Red light therapy is gaining popularity in the fitness community at the same rate as it is among cosmetic experts. The availability of red light treatment devices is increasing, according to Walker, who notes that they can now be purchased at some fitness centers. Having access to red light treatment is often available as an add-on to a standard gym membership.

That’s because it has the potential to boost performance and aid in recovery

Nitric oxide is released in response to red light therapy, according to Dr. Pardi. This chemical has vasodilatory properties, meaning it widens blood arteries. There is an increase in circulation as a result. For athletes, he says, “better delivery of oxygen and nutrients to working muscles” and “less load on your heart and muscles” sum up to the benefits of increased blood flow. Red light therapy before exercise has been shown to delay fatigue, so this could help you push through that tough middle section of your workout for longer. The study was published in the journal Lasers Medical Science.

The American College of Sports Medicine reports that muscular soreness is typically brought on by a buildup of cellular waste within muscle cells, which then leads to inflammation. Walker speculates that increasing blood flow to and from the muscles by the red light treatment could aid in the removal of metabolic waste products. In the end, she says, less muscular inflammation and discomfort means athletes may return to the gym sooner and train harder than they would have without the therapy. Recovering from injury was nearly twice as fast for collegiate athletes who received red light therapy, according to a 2016 study published in the journal Laser Therapy Read more