Anyone tried using red light therapy?

Posted by domokane @domokane, Jul 29, 2023

There seems to be some evidence that photobiomodulation - heating the skin via infra red light - has some benefits for stimulating nerve re growth. There are lots of devices available on Amazon as well as lots of seemingly expensive treatments provided by chiropractors.

I would be interested to know of any personal experience with such devices and any possible recommendations.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

@dannytwilliams

I did a lot of research on red light therapy, as it concerns its benefits, and one thing that kept popping up is to make sure your product is a medical grade product. Meaning, it did not come from overseas but from a reputable manufacturer. I chose a product called MyChondria. Just about every product on Amazon was an over seas product and definitely not medical grade. NO i am not being paid by MyChondria for any of these statements. My experience with using the product every day for 15 minutes with 1 minute per 30 degree positions in full body exposure are the following. The benefits i have felt are skin elasticity tightened, joint warmth relief, sinus cavity swelling significantly reduced, stretching improved and many others. They claim that this treatment helps grow hair but i am not that sure about that. Any way, the most important thing i can say about anyone that want to pursue redlight therapy, do your research and spend the extra $$ to get a medical grade product (one that you see the medical industry use at there offices where they use red light treatment)

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I wholly concur. I am a professor/researcher and spend weeks scouring peer-reviewed journal articles that used RLT for various long covid symptoms. The only RLT panel I found that was independently evaluated (all the studies are small, but valid) was from Platinum Therapy Lights. I used one for several weeks at a local spa and then ordered one, as the results were very good, esp. for addressing fatigue in the short run. See: https://platinumtherapylights.com/blogs/news/red-light-therapy-for-inflammation#toc-heading-7
There is a LOT of completely untested, non-medical grade crap on the web claiming to address long covid symptoms. Unless you've found an independent study (meaning not paid for by the device manufacturer), I wouldn't trust any marketing material. Follow the science.

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20 min a day. Very helpful for both pain and fatigue.

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@jsg12206

You're not looking in the right places. I have at least 14 articles, most published in peer-reviewed journals, examining the effectiveness of RLT. It has been helpful for me in addressing fatigue, but only for short periods of time. Anything that helps is welcome.

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I have been using Healthlight red light for 5 years for peripheral neuropathy. It was expensive but is medical grade and made in the USA. It has helped the pain in my feet but the numbness only a little. I use it everyday for 15 minutes. I chose this type because of good reviews and any relief is worth it for this terrible condition that we suffer from.

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@joannehart

I have been using Healthlight red light for 5 years for peripheral neuropathy. It was expensive but is medical grade and made in the USA. It has helped the pain in my feet but the numbness only a little. I use it everyday for 15 minutes. I chose this type because of good reviews and any relief is worth it for this terrible condition that we suffer from.

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There’s a big difference between “FSA listed”, which is what that manufacturer says on their website, and “FDA approved “. The former is a statement that the product has been registered with the FDA, but not approved. The latter is the FDA’s declaration that it actually has proven to do what it claims.

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The truth is Red Light Therapy is not patentable and thus there is no money in it for Big Pharma or any other medical product manufacturer. It does not have any double-blind studies for this same reason. Thus, it is not into mainstream medical practice and most likely never will be.

I have used it for my neuropathy. I am very care to not use it longer than suggested or more often than suggested. It does seem to help but there is no quantitative measurement I can refer to that supports my opinion.

If you decide to go this route, please read up on the proper use of red-light therapy, follow the rules and stay with it for a minimum of 30 days before deciding it's efficacy.

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@arflmi33

I saw my chiropractor today for advice on various issues and I asked him about the red light therapy. He said it is worthless. So, to each his own always, but so far I am not seeing any scientific evidence that it helps.

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It's not worthless. I've been using my bright health for several years. It is definitely helped. Along with other rights changes in diet cutting out sugar the best of my ability processed food all this cuts down on Inflammation.

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I have been using red light therapy for over 5 years for 20 minutes a day. I bought the Healthlight foot and ankle device for $1600. It is medical grade and made in the US. I chose it because of the good reviews. It has taken away the pain in my feet and has helped the numbness a little so I am happy with some relief. The numbness has not increased. My advice is to not buy a cheap red light therapy device.

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I agree with the importance of buying medical grade. I have a Platinum Biomax medical grade panel. Also agree with it being difficult to quantify benefit. But I know if I miss more than one day I'm feel pain that stops when i get back to 20 mins/day. Worth every penny. No downside except cost.

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I'll just throw in my 2c here, I've been struggling with backpain for the last 8 years and constantly using pain meds and warm therapy to ease the pain. I decided to try red light therapy and its been great, but do get ones that have a near infrared component as it goes deeper into the skin.

I decided to purchase a panel and its been working wonders for me

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I have been using red light therapy for over 5 years for peripheral neuropathy. I bought a foot and ankle HealthLight device for $1400. It took away the foot pain and the numbness a little. The numbness has not progressed so I am pleased with any help. I use it for 20 minutes every day. It is important to buy a medial grade device made in the US so I chose one with good reviews.

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