Achy joints - a familiar and unwelcome companion for many of us as we journey through life. It creeps up on us due to various factors like overuse, injury, inflammation, or conditions like arthritis.
Luckily, we have some power to manage and even prevent future joint pain. Let's delve into practical tips that have shown great promise in alleviating the discomfort of those pesky joints.
Limiting Joint Pain: What Works?
Taking charge of your joint health requires a multi-faceted approach - it will require some lifestyle changes as well as experimentation with treatments that can help limit inflammation and pain. Here are some methods that are often recommended to help keep your joints happy:
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Low-Impact Exercise & Movement:
Engaging in activities like walking, biking, or swimming help build muscle strength while being gentle on the joints. Incorporating gentle stretching or yoga enhances joint flexibility and range of motion. Plus, staying active helps to maintain a healthy weight, which reduces the strain on your knees and hips.
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Physical Therapy:
As we age, the gradual loss of muscle mass, known as sarcopenia, can affect joint health. Consulting with a physical therapist can help you discover tailored exercises and routines that address your unique needs. They can also offer invaluable tips on improving your posture and teach you how to sit, stand, and move in ways that minimize joint discomfort.
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Keep Sugar in Check:
Surprisingly, excessive refined sugar intake cause (and worsen) inflammation [1], which can stiffen the supporting joint tissues, and make them more sensitive to stress. Start by making small, gradual changes in your diet. Swap sugary desserts for delicious fruits, read food labels to monitor added sugars, and give sugar-sweetened beverages the boot.
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Utilize At-Home Treatments:
Simple at-home remedies like using heat and ice or massaging sore muscles can provide temporary relief from joint pain and stiffness. Another promising addition to your self-care routine is Red Light Therapy (RLT), backed by numerous studies indicating its potential to support joint health.
How Can Red Light Therapy Help Your Joints? The Science:
Now, let's explore the exciting realm of Red Light Therapy (RLT) and how it might be your ally in the quest for joint comfort. Though the science on RLT is still early, there have been a number of studies about the potential impact of RLT on joint health, a few of the notable studies include:
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Elderly Patients Find Relief:
In a partially double-blinded clinical study, elderly patients with degenerative osteoarthritis applied red and infrared light therapy using LED lights for 15 minutes twice a day. The result? They experienced over a 50% reduction in pain compared to the placebo group [2].
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Tackling Inflammation:
A research study that looked into the effects of photobiomodulation (a fancy term for RLT) suggests that RLT could be helpful in treating conditions like arthritis [3]. One study they mentioned exposed tissues to photobiomodulation with a laser 810 nm. The results showed an increase in mitochondrial heat shock protein, which helps cells cope with stress, and a decrease in certain molecules that are involved in cellular processes associated with inflammation [4].
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Managing Knee Osteoarthritis:
A meta-analysis on studies that used RLT (also known as LLLT) to treat knee osteoarthritis. The results of their review showed that red light therapy (also known as LLLT), is effective at reducing pain and improving function when paired alongside interventions like therapeutic exercise [5].
LUMEBOX: Your Joint Health Companion
Wondering how to incorporate RLT into your daily life? Meet LUMEBOX, your LED-based portable red light therapy device. While some studies mentioned earlier utilized lasers, experts like Dr. Hamblin suggest that LED-based RLT offers comparable benefits [6]. This is fantastic news because lasers can be expensive and inaccessible to many, whereas LED-based RLT can be conveniently integrated into your daily routine from the comfort of your living room.
Start Your Joint-Joy Journey with LUMEBOX
Ready to embark on your journey to joint wellness? Consider adding LUMEBOX to your self-care arsenal. It's a convenient and accessible way to experience the potential benefits of RLT in the comfort of your home.
New to red light therapy? Download our free eBook to help you choose the best device.
Already have a LUMEBOX? Download our 6 time-saving tricks guide!
Medical Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog post is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as medical advice. Everyone responds to light differently. Testimonials are not a guarantee of the results you or anyone who uses LUMEBOX will get because your success depends entirely on your circumstances, and the studies on red light therapy shared were not specifically performed using LUMEBOX. Please check with your doctor before using red light therapy and do not change your medical treatments or lifestyle without consulting your physician first.
References:
- Della Corte KW, Perrar I, Penczynski KJ, Schwingshackl L, Herder C, Buyken AE. Effect of Dietary Sugar Intake on Biomarkers of Subclinical Inflammation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies. Nutrients. 2018 May 12;10(5):606. doi: 10.3390/nu10050606. PMID: 29757229; PMCID: PMC5986486.
- Stelian J, Gil I, Habot B, Rosenthal M, Abramovici I, Kutok N, Khahil A. Improvement of pain and disability in elderly patients with degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee treated with narrow-band light therapy. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1992 Jan;40(1):23-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1992.tb01824.x. PMID: 1727843.
- Hamblin MR. Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation. AIMS Biophys. 2017;4(3):337-361. doi: 10.3934/biophy.2017.3.337. Epub 2017 May 19. PMID: 28748217; PMCID: PMC5523874.
- Barabás, K.; Bakos, J.; Zeitler, Z.; Bálint, G.; Nagy, E.; Lakatos, T.; Kékesi, A.K.; Gáspár, L.; Szekanecz, Z. Effects of laser treatment on the expression of cytosolic proteins in the synovium of patients with osteoarthritis. Laser Surg. Med. 2014, 46, 644–649.
- Ganjeh, S., Rezaeian, Z.S. & Mostamand, J. Low Level Laser Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Narrative Review. Adv Ther 37, 3433–3449 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-020-01415-w
- Heiskanen V, Hamblin MR. Photobiomodulation: lasers vs. light emitting diodes? Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2018 Aug 8;17(8):1003-1017. doi: 10.1039/c8pp90049c. Erratum in: Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2018 Oct 31;18(1):259-259. PMID: 30044464; PMCID: PMC6091542.
