Debbie It may be unusual to hear about using infrared rays, especially in healthcare. However, this technology has proven to be quite valuable in medicine. Infrared waves occupy a region of the electromagnetic radiation, extending from the visible-light range to the microwave range. In other words, while you can’t see this light, you can feel it on your skin. Physiotherapists use infrared waves in a therapeutic way. Infrared therapy is a type of treatment that helps patients with acute or chronic pain.
Since these waves have a longer wavelength, they can penetrate deep into the skin, providing immense relief. Hence, whether the patient is suffering from pain, feels sore, or has inflammation, infrared therapy can sort out any issue. But, before signing up for any therapy, it is essential to understand how it works, so here’s what you need to know:
Exploring Chronic Ailments
The healthcare sector is under tremendous burden. Specific ailments like high blood pressure, diabetes, dementia, and chronic pain are massive public health concerns since the number of patients dealing with them is increasing. As a result, a large sector of the healthcare sector is looking after these patients by leaning on public health officials. No one understands the social, economic, and physical repercussions of chronic diseases like public health professionals do.
For instance, about 11.3% of the US population has diabetes. Without proper public health intervention, these numbers will only escalate. One way to help reduce chronic conditions is by educating the public, but this is only possible if you have credentials to guide the population. For this, you need to hold at least a master’s degree in public health. Fortunately, you can easily access an online MPH and build up the skills you need to be an asset to the community. Another way to look after the public is by connecting them to treatments like infrared therapy.
Investigating Infrared Therapy
Your body absorbs infrared light and converts it into thermal energy. From here, the infrared light passes through your skin and enters the fat cells. As a result, triglycerides get broken down into fatty acids and glycerol.
Similarly, infrared therapy raises your core temperature, which causes your heart rate to increase and your blood vessels to dilate. Consequently, your blood flow also increases, and your circulation improves drastically, which causes more oxygen along with nutrients to travel around the body. But the question arises: What health benefits do you reap from this treatment? Let’s find out.
1. Significantly Reduces Pain and Inflammation
A healthcare specialist can target infrared waves on specific areas of your body. If you have immense pain in your joints or have swollen muscles, infrared therapy can help. These waves travel through the skin to your muscles and other tissues. The heat produced encourages circulation and causes more oxygen to flow freely around your body.
Blood is the primary medium for essential nutrients to travel around your body. When it reaches your problem areas, it can significantly ease pain and reduce inflammation. The added heat from the infrared waves can also trigger endorphins to be released into your blood. These chemicals in your body can help relieve pain, reduce stress, and enhance your overall well-being. Hence, a combination of improved circulation and more endorphins can eliminate inflammation.
2. Improves Your Heart
For cases of high blood pressure and impaired blood flow through major arteries, infrared therapy can help. The infrared spectrum has a range of wavelengths within itself, one of which is the Far infrared. This is a specific wavelength ranging from 15 micrometers to 1 mm. In other words, the Far Infrared corresponds to a frequency of 20 THz to 300 GHz.
As infrared therapy boosts circulation, it does this by increasing the production of nitric oxide. This is a compound that can dilate your blood vessels and stimulate hormone release. When your blood vessels become wider, it can cause more blood to push through, which can reduce the pressure building on them and improve the circulation to your major arteries.
3. Enhances Your Appearance
Your skin goes through immense wear and tear, which can eventually cause it to become damaged with time. Skin issues like acne can also impact your skin, making it look more worn down than it is. Therefore, if you’re in need of a solution, try infrared therapy. As the waves penetrate your skin, it can cause your skin cells to regenerate.
Infrared therapy also increases the amount of collagen production. This allows your skin to shed off old cells and replace them with fresh cells. When your cells are replaced like clockwork, it causes old scars to fade. After a few rounds of treatment, your skin will start looking healthy. You may notice a natural glow, suppleness, and improvement in your overall appearance. This technology also comes handy in treating blemishes.
4. Helps In Detoxification
Toxins can build up in your body, which can cause many major health concerns like aging and cancer. When there is too much toxic accumulation in your body, you can experience symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, headaches, and frequent colds. Likewise, there’s a chance that this build-up can cause mood swings, confusion, and memory loss. Most people generally experience toxic overload when they’re exposed to gases like sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, or heavy metals like mercury, lead, and chlorine.
Once these toxins enter your body, they get trapped and produce toxic molecules, impacting blood circulation and drastically reducing cellular energy. To get better, you need to detoxify your body; this is where infrared therapy comes into the picture. Generally, to detoxify your body, you need to flush toxins out of your body.
Toxic gases tend to stick with the water molecules in your body. Hence, when a specific frequency of infrared waves is applied to them, the water molecules break, which releases the gas. Once water no longer encapsulates gases, they move out of your body in various ways, such as through your sweat.
Final Thoughts
Looking after yourself can be challenging, especially when you’re dealing with chronic ailments like diabetes or have cardiovascular issues. But you’re not alone in this journey. The expansion of technology has led to many innovations, including infrared therapy. As the name implies, this procedure involves infrared waves to treat your ailments.
Since infrared light can penetrate deep into your skin and go through your tissues, you will notice a marked difference in your overall well-being. Infrared waves can do everything from improving blood circulation to making your skin look younger. Consequently, this technology is a significant asset to the healthcare sector.
