Light therapy is also known as heliotherapy and phototherapy. It involves exposure to specific wavelengths of light or to sunlight using polarized light devices like dichroic lamps, fluorescent lamps, full-spectrum light sources, light-emitting diodes, etc. People can be exposed to these forms of light for a specific period of time and sometimes at a specific time of day. This article specifically talks about infrared light therapy.

What Is Infrared Light and Infrared Light Therapy?

Infrared light is a component of sunlight that cannot be seen. Rather than being perceived as light, infrared light is seen as a calming, warm heat. This is why it is also known as infrared heat. It is a type of light that can be healthy when you are exposed to it. Exposure to infrared light is possible for long hours without having the chance of burning.

Infrared light doesn't contain the UV wavelengths you'll see in unprotected exposure to the sun. Infrared light is completely safe—so safe, in fact, that it is used to warm newborns in many hospitals.

Infrared ray light treatments are all natural ways to highlight infrared ray light on your body for many different health benefits. It is just like normal red light therapy with the exception that this type of light is completely invisible and is able to go deep to the body's soft tissues than red light and can affect the joints, bone, muscles, and soft tissues. This type of therapy is approved by the FDA for use at home for people who are suffering from chronic pain conditions.

There are three types of infrared light used in this therapy you should know about:

• Near infrared ray light. This uses wavelengths of light form 760-1,400nm. Many devices used at home incorporate this type of infrared ray light.
• Mid infrared ray light. This is also known as infrared B or IR-B. Electronic devices and remote control devices you use at home make use of this wavelength of light.
• Far infrared ray light. This is also called long wave infrared ray heat, thermal infrared ray heat or IR-C. This is the wavelength of infrared ray light used in many infrared saunas.

What Is an Infrared Light Therapy Like?

When you are treated with infrared ray light treatments, you can expect it to be completely painless. It is stored in flexible pads that have many different infrared ray lights that are put on the skin in an area where there has been injuries or pains. The energy from the infrared ray lights go deep beneath the skin so that it can be absorbed by the deeper tissue layers.

It takes just 30 minutes of infrared ray heat therapy to improve the blood flow to the affected area by about 400 percent. This rise in circulation to the affected area lasts for many hours after you take the pads off. While you can get relief after just one treatment, the best benefits can be gotten from using the pads over many different therapy sessions.

How Does Infrared Light Therapy Help You?

The main thing that allows for the vast improvements by using infrared light treatments is a molecule called nitric oxide. This is a short-acting gas that helps maintain the healthiness of your arteries. It causes the articles to relax so that blood pressure can be regulated, oxygen free radicals can be attacked, and platelets can be stopped from causing clumps and blood clots in the arteries. Infrared ray heat causes the release of gaseous nitric oxide that improves the natural flow of blood into the area, causing nutrients and oxygen to flood the area, relieving pain and heeling injured soft tissues. This type of infrared ray light can go deep to the tissues to a depth of about two inches, raising the core temperature of the body and promoting healing.

What Conditions Is Infrared Light Therapy Good For?

Infrared ray light can be absorbed by the skin for the purposes of stimulating the regeneration of cells. NASA was the first to study infrared LED light treatments for their ability to set back the signs of aging so that people could look many years younger without having to undergo plastic surgery procedures or have their skin treated with harsh chemicals. Infrared ray light treatments can smooth wrinkles, soften rough spots, diminish the appearance of reddened areas, shrink the size of the pores, and tighten the skin.

Infrared light therapy can also be used for these conditions:

• Blunt trauma to the tissues
• Arthritic conditions
• Back pain
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Bursitis
• Fibromyalgia
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Neuropathy
• Neck pain
• Muscle strains and sprains
• Tendonitis
• TMJ syndrome
• Sciatica
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Wound care
• Surgical scars

Added to the above conditions, infrared light treatments can also help people who want to lose weight. It causes the heart rate to increase by 50%-75%, so your body can burn more calories.

You can also get a better understanding of it by watching the video below.