Step 3: Red Light Therapy
Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) is a red light therapy that promotes tissue repair (skin wounds, muscles, tendons, bones, nerves), reduces inflammation or reduces pain. PBMT has been the subject of systematic reviews for a range of musculoskeletal pathologies with favorable conclusions reported by The Lancet, BMJ, International Association for the Study of Pain and the World Health Organization. PBMT was previously known as “Low Level Laser Therapy” or “Low Level Light Therapy” because the light is applied using a low power laser or LED. It is a non-invasive therapy and, unlike drugs, it has no side effects. PBMT is not an ablating or heating based therapy, it is more akin to photosynthesis with light being absorbed by the cells and catalyzing chemical changes.
When our cells are stressed they produce a molecule called Nitric Oxide. This molecule blocks the receptor site that Oxygen belongs in during the respiratory process — the process of turning sugar in our blood into cellular energy. Usually, through rest and the consumption of anti-oxidants, the body is able to dispose of excess Nitric Oxide. However, when stressed the body does not have the capacity to remove enough Nitric Oxide. This leads to molecules known as “reactive oxygen species” being leaked into the cell. This is known as “Oxidative Stress.” Reactive oxygen species are toxic and trigger mechanisms for inflammation, cell death and the expression of genes responsible for cancer, Alzheimer’s, osteoarthritis and more.
