This allows for better oxygen and nutrient delivery to the body’s peripheral regions, including the feet, which seem to bear the brunt of diabetic complications. LLLT can help circulation by stimulating the formation of tiny capillaries in areas treated by the light. The combination of poor blood flow and neuropathy can make people with diabetes more susceptible to ulcers or infections in the feet that, if allowed to spread, may require extreme measures such as amputation. Many diabetes patients also develop diabetic neuropathy, a peripheral nervous system disorder that causes loss of feeling in the extremities, especially the feet. This is one reason people with diabetes often develop a circulatory condition called peripheral arterial disease, in which narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs. One effect of diabetes is meager amounts of nitric oxide produced by the body, which hinders normal blood flow. This has profound implications for treating slow-healing wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers, which affect approximately 15 percent of patients with diabetes. Burke’s extensive research into the effects of red light therapy on circulation has led him to conclude that infrared light increases blood flow in any site in the body to which it is applied. Thomas Burke, Ph.D., a retired physiologist with the University of Colorado Medical School, has studied blood flow - specifically changes in blood flow - for more than 30 years. Increase Capillary Formation for Improved Blood Flow NIR wavelengths can even penetrate bone and hard connective tissue like cartilage.
For example, the 630nm to 660nm wavelengths address the skin's health, and the longer 810nm to 850nm NIR wavelengths penetrate deeper into the body.
Doing so will provide skin-deep as well as deep-tissue benefits. Research has shown that red wavelengths from 630nm to 660nm, and NIR wavelengths from 810nm to 850nm, have the greatest scope of benefits - and come with no side effects.Īlthough studies often focus on either red or near-infrared wavelengths, experts say the best treatment approach is to use both. Wavelengths of light are measured in nanometers (nm). It uses powerful light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs to deliver intense beams of red and NIR wavelengths to bare skin. Red light therapy, also called low-level light therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation, is an umbrella term referring to the red light and NIR light. Before we delve into that, let’s do a quick overview of what this treatment method actually is. Red and NIR light has been used successfully to treat the complications associated with diabetes. Diabetes has no cure, and symptom management is the only way to coax the disease into remission. Many medications cause serious side effects.
While some people with type 2 diabetes (also called adult-onset diabetes) can achieve target blood sugar levels with lifestyle changes, diabetes medications, or insulin therapy may also be needed to control blood sugar. This article will explore red light and near-infrared (NIR) light for diabetes: a novel solution that helps treat this disease's complications at the cellular level - healing from the inside out. Whichever type you may have, light therapy could be the treatment solution you’ve been looking for. There are three types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational. It results from the body not producing enough insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas.When insulin levels are low, glucose builds up in the body, which can cause various health problems. Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high blood glucose levels (blood sugar). Nearly 100 million adults in the United States both have diabetes and pre-diabetes according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).