Posted by Photobiomodulation, also known as PBM therapy, is a form of light therapy that uses red light to target chromophores in cellular mitochondria. Mitochondria are cellular organelles that help you produce energy. They break down nutrients and then turn them into organic compounds that are used for providing cellular energy called ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
Once photobiomodulation is applied, both near-infrared light and red light become absorbed by mitochondria. As a result, they start increasing ATP production, which boosts energy transport within your cells and causes increased cellular proliferation.
Simply explained, cellular proliferation is the process during which the cell grows and then divides into two daughter cells. This means that cell proliferation causes a significant increase in cell number and leads to tissue growth as well as the replacement of dead or damaged cells.
When used on damaged tissues, PBMT helps you increase the natural healing process of your body. But this is not everything because photobiomodulation offers many other benefits you should be aware of. Are you curious what they are? Here’s everything you should know.
1. The Brain Benefit: Sleep, Mood, and Self-Care
The brain is a complex organ that can be affected by various factors, such as your experiences and habits, the environment, as well as trauma from accidents or sports.
Fortunately, PBM therapy can have positive effects on the brain by correcting circadian rhythms and helping with emotion or mood regulation. It is also used for assisting patients with TBI (traumatic brain injuries).
Additionally, PBM therapy can also improve your sleep cycle if you decide to get treatment later in the day. This is how it works; PBM therapy uses red light which is quite similar to a dimming light during sunset. This helps your brain wind down and prepare for rest.
PBM therapy can also help you with stress management, which is a crucial aspect of maintaining health. After all, prolonged stress may lead to the development of various mental health disorders and physical illnesses. So managing your stress levels through PBM therapy can help you maintain overall health. It can also fight the symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as help TBI patients by reducing headache frequency and improving cognitive states and sleep.
2. Beauty and Skin Care Benefit
A PBM therapy can be effective for those with various skin concerns, such as wrinkles, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (also known as dark spots), or sun damage. A PBM therapy repairs and regenerates youthful skin by increasing collagen production. Collagen is a hemi protein making up the vast majority of your extracellular matrix (a substance where your cells float in). This protein is important because it provides your skin with the bounce and structure it needs to stay youthful and maintain elasticity.
When the collagen production drops, the skin may develop wrinkles. Fortunately, PBM therapy can significantly reduce wrinkles by naturally increasing collagen production in your body.
As for sun damage, you can use the PBM therapy as part of the targeted photodynamic therapy, helping you remove actinic keratosis patches, which are scaly rough patches of skin developed as a result of too much sun exposure.
When it comes to dark spots that are left behind by stretch marks, scratches, cystic acne, or scrapes, the PBM therapy resolves them by increasing the inflammatory mediator supply, which helps reduce inflammation faster. Additionally, increased collagen production also plays a crucial role in this process by rebuilding your extracellular matrix and preventing scar formation. Additionally, PBM therapy can be effective in reducing the appearance of already existing scars, which is done by repairing an extracellular matrix.
Photobiomodulation also helps with hair growth in earlier stages of hair loss. The boosted circulation that photobiomodulation provides can improve blood flow to your scalp, help repair damaged cells, and supply nutrients that encourage hair growth.
3. Joints and Muscles Benefit: Improved Sports and Exercise Performance
If you use photobiomodulation before a workout session, you’ll be able to temporarily warm up circulation or warm up your muscles through vasodilation, which can help you prevent injury, especially if you are doing a high-intensity workout.
Photobiomodulation is also useful after a workout because it can prevent DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) or the soreness you may feel the day after an intense workout.
4. Helps With Oxidative Stress and Chronic Inflammation
Inflammation is your body’s natural immune response, which typically isn’t harmful. For instance, redness around the healing cut is a form of inflammation. But what if a part of the body becomes inflamed?
In that case, the inflammatory stage starts increasing the white blood cell production. White blood cells then reach the damaged area so they can fight infection, initiate repair, and remove waste products. In other words, inflammation usually resolves on its own after protecting and repairing the body.
But in some cases, the inflammation can be initiated incorrectly, for example during the autoimmune disease, or it may be prolonged because of a chronic joint disease. When this happens, inflammation may attack healthy cells and cause their damage.
Fortunately, PBM therapy helps in such situations by resolving inflammation and repairing damage, especially for those who are dealing with acute muscle or joint injury, arthritis, or tendonitis.
Photobiomodulation therapy can also treat inflammation that is caused by oxidative stress; the damage caused by lifestyles or environmental factors that cause an antioxidant imbalance and increase of free radicals (unstable molecules that can cause diseases and damage DNA).
PBM therapy accomplishes this by initiating tissue repair and preventing programmed cellular death that can be caused by oxidative stress. And considering that a lot of factors may cause the excess of free radicals (certain pesticides and chemicals, pollution, and ozone), the PBM therapy can be an excellent way to control oxidative stress.
Where to Find the Best Photobiomodulation Therapy for You
These days, there are many companies and clinics that offer PBM therapy, so it can feel overwhelming when you start considering your options and which one to choose. Fortunately, you don’t have to go through such a tiring process; all you need to do is visit Hue Light USA which can guide you through your healing journey. You can choose from various photobiomodulation therapy devices, depending on your needs. And no matter which one you opt for, rest assured that you’ll be provided with some of the best photobiomodulation devices out there.