According to WebMD.com, “It’s hard to believe, but your body holds about 60,000 miles of blood vessels. Along with your heart and other muscles, they make up your circulatory system. This network of roadways carries blood to every corner of your body.”[1] But in order for your blood to flow unrestricted, good circulation and microcirculation are crucial. “Circulation” refers to the flow of blood coursing through your network of blood vessels, while “microcirculation” refers to the flow of blood coursing through your capillaries — the smallest blood vessels.
Good Circulation and Microcirculation
Good circulation and microcirculation are very important for your health and wellness. Blood full of oxygen, nutrients, and hormones must flow unrestricted to all the cells in your body, including your nerves, tissues, muscles, and vital organs, in order for them to operate properly. And carbon dioxide and waste products must be adequately collected and removed from your cells through the capillaries.
Dangers of Poor Circulation
When circulation and microcirculation are poor because blood flow is restricted (by plaque buildup in the arteries, for example), your cells cannot receive all of the oxygen, nutrients, and hormones that they require for proper functioning — increasing your risk of disease. “Microcirculation rarefaction has been associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome…In addition, the rarefaction of microcirculation in capillary beds is related to target organ damage….”[2] Vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, and brain can be harmed by poor circulation and microcirculation.
Ways to Maintain Good Circulation & Microcirculation
What can you do to increase and maintain good circulation and microcirculation? This can be accomplished in several ways: exercise; diet; supplements; medications; and massage therapy. WebMD.com also recommends: controlling blood pressure; staying hydrated; standing at a desk rather than sitting; yoga; warm baths; and lots of fruits and vegetables.[3] But perhaps the easiest way to increase and maintain good circulation and microcirculation iswith Red Light/Infrared Therapy!
Red/Infrared Light Therapy Increases Circulation
A non-invasive, easy, and highly effective way to increase circulation and microcirculation for better health is by using Red/Infrared Light Therapy. [Red/Infrared Light Therapy is also known as “phototherapy,” and “photobiomodulation” (PBM).] It can be defined as, “the use of red and near-infrared light to stimulate healing, relieve pain, and reduce inflammation.”[4] Red Light and Infrared Light Therapy induces a wide range of beneficial effects on the body, including increased circulation. “The beneficial outcomes of phototherapy for the treatment of acute and chronic musculoskeletal disorders include pain control, enhanced blood circulation, and improved tissue repair.”[5] Higher quality, professional-level Red Light and Infrared Light Therapy systems (such as devices sold by Energia Medical) have been granted FDA clearance for increasing circulation, and also for relieving pain; relaxing muscles, relieving muscle spasms, and relieving the aches and stiffness caused by arthritis.
How Red/Infrared Light Therapy Works
Light Therapy systems are simple and easy to use.When a Light Therapy pad is placed on the body, photons of light are released which induce cascades of beneficial biochemical processes within the cells. “Radiation of tissue with light causes an increase in mitochondrial products such as ATP, NADH, protein, and RNA…”[6] Also released is nitric oxide (NO), known as the body’s natural vasodilator, which increases circulation so that blood teeming with oxygen and nutrients can now flow more freely into that local area. The increase in circulation accelerates the body’s natural healing processes, leading to better health and wellness. “This vasodilation increases the availability of oxygen to treated cells, and also allows for greater traffic of immune cells into tissue. These two effects contribute to accelerated healing.”[7]
Light Therapy Benefits the Entire Body
Light Therapy can benefit circulation and microcirculation in virtually every part of the body. Just place the light therapy pad over any area where an increase in circulation is needed. And increased circulation leads to pain relief and healing support wherever the Light Therapy pad is placed. A typical therapy session lasts for twenty minutes, and can be administered as needed to improve and then maintain good circulation and microcirculation.
Studies Prove Red Light/Infrared Therapy Supports Circulation and Microcirculation
Peer-reviewed scientific studies on http://www.pubmed.gov prove that Red Light/Infrared Light Therapy is effective for improving circulation and microcirculation. Here are two studies:
- A 2007 human study of the effects of visible light and near-infrared light on skin microcirculation and microvascular response in 24 subjects with type 2 diabetes concluded: “Both types of irradiation stimulated microcirculation at the local and systemic levels through a mechanism of enhancement of endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilation, in which nitric oxide plays a major role.”[8]
- A 2020 study investigating patient-specific response to the ability of PBM to increase blood flow concluded: “We demonstrated that PBM induces arteriolar vasodilation that results in both immediate and long-lasting increased capillary flow and tissue perfusion in healthy individuals.”[9] Specifically, “Near-infrared PBM was found to induce a 27% increase in microcirculatory flow that increased to 54% during the 20-minute follow-up period…”[10]
In Conclusion – Red and Infrared Light Therapy for Good Circulation and Microcirculation
Red/Infrared Light Therapy can effectively and easily increase circulation and microcirculation, plus accelerate your body’s own innate healing processes. Red Light and Infrared Light Therapy can bring you, your family, and/or your patients a lifetime of improved health! If you are a chiropractor, physical therapist, medical doctor, acupuncturist, or podiatrist, consider adding Red Light/Infrared Therapy to your treatment menu. One Red Light/Infrared Therapy system can result in better patient outcomes and make a big difference in your clinic! Contact Energia Medical at 833-429-4040 or via email at info@energiamedical.com to learn more about Red Light/Infrared Therapy systems from Energia Medical.
Citations
[1] https://www.webmd.com/dvt/ss/slideshow-dvt-improve-circulation. p. 1.
[2] Tibiriçá E, Lorenzo A, Oliveira GMM. Microcirculation and Cardiovascular Diseases. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2018 Aug;111(2):120-121. doi: 10.5935/abc.20180149. PMID: 30183978; PMCID: PMC6122906, pps. 120-121.
[3] https://www.webmd.com/dvt/ss/slideshow-dvt-improve-circulation, pps. 4-14.
[4] 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, p.1.
[5] Borsa PA, Larkin KA, True JM. Does phototherapy enhance skeletal muscle contractile function and postexercise recovery? A systematic review. J Athl Train. 2013 Jan-Feb;48(1):57-67. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-48.1.12. PMID: 23672326; PMCID: PMC3554033. P. 57.
[6] Chung, Hoon, et al. The Nuts and Bolts of Low-level Laser (Light) Therapy. Ann Biomed Eng. 2012 February; 40(2): 516–533. doi:10.1007/s10439-011-0454-7, p. 5 of NIH Public Access version.
[7] Ibid., p. 6.
[8] Samoilova KA, Zhevago NA, Menshutina MA, Grigorieva NB. Role of nitric oxide in the visible light-induced rapid increase of human skin microcirculation at the local and systemic level: I. diabetic patients. Photomed Laser Surg. 2008 Oct;26(5):433-42. doi: 10.1089/pho.2007.2197. PMID: 18922086, Abstract.
[9] Gavish L, Hoffer O, Rabin N, Halak M, Shkilevich S, Shayovitz Y, Weizman G, Haim O, Gavish B, Gertz SD, Ovadia-Blechman Z. Microcirculatory Response to Photobiomodulation-Why Some Respond and Others Do Not: A Randomized Controlled Study. Lasers Surg Med. 2020 Nov;52(9):863-872. doi: 10.1002/lsm.23225. Epub 2020 Feb 17. PMID: 32064652, Abstract.
[10] Ibid.
Image Credit: <ahref=”https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/gradient-circulatory-system-infographic_10877929.htm#query=circulation&position=1&from_view=search&track=sph”>Freepik</a>
