Red Light Therapy for Carpal Tunnel: 5 Astounding Benefits
What’s red, infrared, and could potentially save you from surgery?
It’s red light therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome, and the scientific results will blow your mind.
If you’re tired of dealing with hand pain, numbness, and tingling, you’re in for a treat.
Let’s dive into how this non-invasive treatment could be your ticket to pain-free typing and gripping!
Key Takeaways:
- Red light therapy uses light to stimulate energy production and reduce swelling.
- Scientific results using red light therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome show that it reduces pain and restores functionality.
- The best red light therapy for carpal tunnel uses a handheld or a wrap to concentrate photon energy on the wrist and arm.
5 Astounding Benefits of Red Light Therapy for Carpal Tunnel
1. Pain Relief
Red light therapy isn’t just a fancy light show for your wrist: It’s a powerful pain-fighting tool.
When those specific wavelengths hit your carpal tunnel area, they get to work on your pain receptors. They’re telling your nerves to chill out and stop sending those “ouch” signals to your brain.
But that’s not all. Less swelling means less pressure on your median nerve, translating to less pain. It’s a double whammy against that nagging carpal tunnel discomfort.
2. Improved Nerve Function
Ever feel like your hand’s falling asleep at the most inconvenient times?
Red light therapy can promote smoother nerve signaling. By stimulating the cells in and around your median nerve, this therapy can help improve nerve conduction.
What does that mean for you?
Potentially less of that annoying tingling and numbness. Studies have also shown that the response to therapy includes improved grip strength and dexterity. It’s like giving your nerve a tune-up so it can do its job better.
3. Increased Blood Flow
Red light therapy is like a traffic director for your blood vessels, helping to create new routes and ease congestion. Opening arteries with nitric oxide and stimulating the formation of new capillaries improves blood flow to the affected area.
Better circulation means more oxygen and nutrients are delivered to your tired, cranky wrist tissues. It’s like sending a supply convoy to support your body’s natural healing processes. Plus, improved blood flow helps flush out waste products and toxins, further supporting tissue health.
4. Reduced Inflammation
Inflammation is often the bad guy in the carpal tunnel story, causing swelling that puts pressure on your median nerve. Red light therapy steps in like a peacekeeper, helping to calm this inflammatory response.
The therapy can help decrease the pressure in the carpal tunnel by reducing inflammation. This can lead to less pain, improved nerve function, and easier movement of the tendons that pass through the tunnel. It’s like deflating a balloon that’s been squeezing your nerves.
5. Non-Invasive Alternative
Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome is effective, but it comes with risks, recovery time, and potential complications. Red light therapy offers a non-invasive alternative that doesn’t involve cutting or downtime.
While it may not replace surgery in severe cases, many people find significant relief with red light therapy. It’s painless, has no known side effects when used correctly, and can be done in your home. Plus, you can use it alongside other treatments without worry.
For those looking to avoid or delay surgery or for post-surgery recovery support, red light therapy presents an intriguing option. It’s not a magic bullet, but for many, it’s a game-changing addition to their carpal tunnel management toolkit.
What is Red Light Therapy for Carpal Tunnel?
Red light therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome is a noninvasive treatment that uses specific wavelengths of light to target the wrist’s affected area.
It is a potential alternative or a complementary approach to traditional carpal tunnel treatments.
This therapy involves exposing the wrist to red and near-infrared light, typically 630-660 nanometers (nm) for red light and 810-850 nm for near-infrared.
Red light therapy can also include blue, green and yellow wavelengths. The red and infrared do the heavy lifting in inflammation and pain reduction therapy.
These wavelengths aren’t chosen randomly. They’re selected for their ability to penetrate tissues effectively and stimulate cellular processes.
But how does shining light on your wrist help with carpal tunnel syndrome? The mechanism is pretty fascinating.
Applying red and near-infrared light to the carpal tunnel area penetrates through the skin and into deeper tissues. It can reach the fascia, tendons, and median nerve.
Once absorbed, this light energy gets to work at the cellular level.
It’s particularly effective at stimulating your cells’ mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses. When mitochondria get a boost from red light therapy, they ramp up the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the biological battery that powers tissue repair.
This increased energy availability can kickstart a range of beneficial processes. It may help reduce inflammation, promote tissue repair, and even support nerve function.
This could potentially translate to reduced pain, less numbness and tingling, and improved wrist function for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Red light therapy for carpal tunnel isn’t about blasting your wrist with just any light. The specific wavelengths, intensity, and duration of exposure all matter. It’s a targeted approach to give your overworked wrist the cellular support it needs to heal and function better.
Red Light Therapy for Carpal Tunnel: How It Works
Red light therapy, known as photobiomodulation, low-level light therapy, and cold laser, treats carpal tunnel syndrome through several interconnected biological mechanisms.
This therapy isn’t just about shining a light on your wrist: It’s about triggering a cascade of healing processes at the cellular level.
At its core, red light therapy is about how cells respond to light. When the light reaches the affected tissues in the carpal tunnel, they interact with light-sensitive components in our cells.
The show’s star here is the mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells. These little energy factories have photoreceptors that absorb light energy.
This absorption kickstarts a series of reactions that ultimately lead to increased production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the energy currency of our cells.
But why does more ATP matter for carpal tunnel syndrome?
With this energy boost, cells in the affected area can function more efficiently. They’re better equipped to repair damage, reduce inflammation, and support overall tissue health.
Red light therapy has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects, which is crucial because inflammation is often a major contributor to carpal tunnel symptoms.
By calming this inflammatory response, the therapy may help reduce swelling in the carpal tunnel, taking pressure off the median nerve.
Blood flow is another important factor. The light energy can stimulate the formation of new capillaries in the treated area, improving circulation. Better blood flow means more oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the tissues, and waste products are removed more efficiently. This improved circulation can be a game-changer for your poor, compressed median nerve.
Lastly, red light therapy may have direct effects on nerve function. Some studies suggest that it can support nerve regeneration and improve nerve conduction.
These nerve benefits can translate to pain relief and less tingling and weakness.
Science Supporting Red Light Therapy for Carpal Tunnel
Best Dose Study
A 2020 study published in The European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine examined how different types of laser therapy affect carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The study involved 98 patients split into five groups:
- Strong infrared light for a short period
- Strong infrared light for a longer period
- Low-power infrared light for a short period
- Low-power infrared light for a longer period
- Exercise only (no high or low power light)
All groups did standard exercises, while the red light therapy groups received five treatments over two weeks.
The study examined how much pain was reduced, using a 0-10 scale where 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst possible pain. It also checked how well the nerves were working.
- Strong light for a shorter period: 68.1% pain reduction
- Strong light for a longer period: 42.1% pain reduction
- Low-power light for a shorter period: 29.5% pain reduction
- Low-power light for a longer period: 27.9% pain reduction
- Exercise only: 7.1% pain reduction
The strong red light therapy device used briefly had the best results.
It was the most effective for reducing CTS pain. This treatment cut pain by more than two-thirds, which could improve the quality of life for people with carpal tunnel syndrome.
271 Wrists Reporting Study
A 2016 study published in Medicine examined whether red light therapy could help people with carpal tunnel syndrome. It looked for reduced pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand and arm.
The researchers combined results from seven different clinical trials, which included 531 wrists: 270 were treated with red light therapy and were compared to 261 placebo treatments.
The study found some encouraging results for people with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.
After three months, those who received red and infrared light therapy showed better hand grip strength than those who didn’t. This is important because carpal tunnel syndrome can weaken a person’s grip, making everyday tasks difficult.
Another positive finding was that therapy patients reported less pain after three months.
The researchers used a pain scale where people rated their pain from 0 to 10, and the therapy group had significantly better scores. This suggests that red light therapy can reduce the discomfort associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
The study also examined the wrist nerves’ functioning. It found that after three months, the sensory nerves (which help you feel things) worked better in people with laser therapy. This could mean improved sensation in the fingers and hands.
This research suggests that low-level laser therapy might be helpful for some people with carpal tunnel syndrome, particularly for improving grip strength and reducing pain.
How to Use Red Light Therapy for Carpal Tunnel
Red light therapy can be used to attack neck pain in two ways:
- full-body light exposure for systemic relief
- targeted spot pain relief at specific pain points
Use a panel for systemic relief and a handheld or a wrap for targeted relief.
If I chose a panel and a handheld, I would start with a targeted device. I would get the light to press onto the skin to maximize photon absorption at the area of the tender pain points.
Most lights come standard with red and infrared light in the 630-660 nm (red) and 810-850 (nm) wavelength ranges. Red and infrared are equally healing, with infrared reaching deeper into the body than red.
Use the panel on the full front and back of the body once daily. If you combine it with a targeted device, use them simultaneously. The handheld or wrap will put more light on the wrist’s painful areas, and the panel will treat the rest of your body.
Another option is to use the panel on one day and the handheld or wrap on the next, switching between the two.
Don’t be tempted to review the prescribed time per session, as it’s counterproductive.
Be aware of reasons not to use the therapy, such as when you are taking photosensitive medications.
Red Light Therapy Panels
A panel floods your body with light from a distance of 6 or more inches. Mitochondria in the blood (a recent discovery) accept the light while traveling throughout the body.
Because the treated blood circulates throughout the body and brain, the panel brings healing to the entire body (and brain).
This is why it’s called “systemic,” because it treats the entire system. Panel healing is more comprehensive, but it can take four to six weeks to feel consistent neck pain relief.
Look for a panel from a well-known brand. With red light therapy becoming popular, there are many copycats now.
Brands like Mito Red Light and Lightpath LED are owned and run by experts in light therapy. They build solid devices backed by science.
Red Light Therapy Handhelds
A handheld is a targeted device that floods a specific wrist pain with healing photons (light) for more immediate results.
Based on people I’ve met in pain support groups, a handheld works faster to relieve wrist pain than a panel.
Look for a powerful handheld at the top of the “low-level” energy window. Use it on the neck once daily.
Red Light Therapy Wraps
A wrap is a soft material with embedded light around your list.
The Visum Flex Pad is the strongest wrap out there, which means it works faster than competing devices.
Conclusion
Red light therapy for carpal tunnel uses light to stimulate energy production and reduce swelling. Scientific results using red light therapy for carpal tunnel syndrome show that it reduces pain and restores functionality. The best red light therapy for carpal tunnel uses a handheld or a wrap to concentrate photon energy on the wrist and arm.
