What Is the Best Red Light Therapy for Back Pain?

Back pain is something every one of us has experienced. For some it is sporadic but for others, it can be a chronic problem. It can be in the form of painful muscle spasms, can give a feeling of constant pain, and even be like a dull ache. However the back pain may be, it can be frustrating and affect the quality of your life. 

If you have been experiencing it on and off, you have probably tried a gazillion things to find relief. Some therapies or medications might have even relieved you for a short while. But back pain is something that always regresses if the root cause isn’t resolved. 

If you’re someone on the hunt for back pain relief for a while, you might have heard of red light therapy devices too. So what is red light therapy?

In this article, we discuss the causes of back pain and how red light therapy can help relieve it. 

What Causes Back Pain?

Many problems can cause back pain and body aches in general:

Poor Posture: Sitting for extended periods and working on a slouching or bent posture for a long time can cause back pain. People who work in the fields or sit on unergonomic chairs are more likely to get back pain. 

Muscle Strain: Repetitive motions cause Repetitive strain injuries (RSIs). These motions like those done at the gym can also cause microscopic tears to muscles, causing muscle tension and inflammation leading to back pain. Overexertion can also cause muscle strain leading to back pain. 

Herniated or Bludging Disc: Ruptured disks in the spinal cord due to lifting weights, injuries, repetitive motions, or aging can impact the nerves running down there causing back pain that is usually hard to relieve. 

Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis can sometimes cause tiny fractures in the back or collapsed vertebrae. In both these cases, the patient can experience back pain. 

Arthritis: Those with a chronic, degenerative joint disease like arthritis can also have it in their spine causing stiffness and dull backache that can make it difficult to sit, lie down, and even walk around at times. 

Injury: Some cases of trauma or accidents can also cause back pain in individuals. Accidents or trauma can cause acute or chronic back pain.

How Does Red Light Therapy Treat Back Pain?

Red light therapy has been a result of consistent innovation. The use of electricity for relieving pain dates back to 2750 BC when people used eels to provide electric shocks for pain relief. In recent times, the use of LEDs to produce light of certain wavelengths has given us infrared (IR) therapy. This therapy is hugely beneficial for people experiencing pain, especially back pain. 

But how exactly does it treat back pain?

Now that we know what some core causes of back pain are, we can say that it works on these issues. 

Red light therapy can also be called low-light laser therapy. To be precise, it uses red light with a wavelength ranging between 650-850 nanometers. This light is concentrated and therefore, can penetrate the skin to the cells in the muscles. 

The heat from the infrared light increases the production of mitochondria. These are the powerhouses of the cells. Once the cells have a boosted power source, their function is improved and they can repair the damaged tissues, inflammation, and microtears that are causing the back pain. 

Another factor that makes red light therapy effective for back pain is its activation of the stem cells and a boosted collagen function. Collagen is a protein that is key to muscles, bones, skin, ligaments, and even connective tissues. A boosted collagen level means that the dead cells are replaced by newer ones, therefore quickening the healing process. 

What Are the Benefits of Red Light Therapy for Back Pain?

There are dozens of treatment options available for back pain, many of which are effective as well. However, red light therapy offers immense benefits because it is non-invasive and drug-free. Many people take medications to find relief from back pain. However, these often have steroids that can imbalance the blood sugar, and blood pressure, and cause weight gain, osteoporosis, glaucoma, and insomnia if taken for long periods. 

What Are the Best Red Light Therapy Devices for Back Pain?

PRUNGO offers one of the most advanced red light treatment devices for back pain - the PRUNGO Red Light Therapy Module. The device is equipped with a self-developed focusing lens that can reduce the natural divergence angle of 650nm red light to less than 10 degrees, achieving precise energy concentration delivery. This concentrated red light can treat the surface skin and shallow tissues, promoting collagen production, accelerating superficial wound healing, reducing inflammation, and other repair effects.

In addition, the device also uses advanced 850nm near-infrared polarized light technology and is equipped with polarizers commonly used in large medical equipment. Polarized lasers penetrate deeply into tissues in a spiral pattern, providing powerful and precise energy delivery, enhancing pain relief,f and accelerating inflammation repair.

PRUNGO medical-grade red light therapy devices are equipped with a charging box, which is very convenient to carry when going out, especially for people who suffer from back pain due to travel fatigue. Compared with KINEON MOVE+ Pro, although the latter also has excellent red light therapy effects, the red light is non-polarized and the energy focus is also low, so the effect of relieving back pain is relatively mild.

Summary

Red light therapy is now increasingly being recommended by chiropractors and pain rehabilitation physicians. The best part about red light therapy is its non-invasive treatment. The light emitted also works on the natural abilities of the cells in the muscles and bones to help relieve back pain and continually work on healing the issue that causes it. 

If you’re considering buying red light therapy, do consider investing in a high-quality product that delivers you the best product. 

Related reading: Is Red Light Therapy Safe for Cancer Patients？