When aches and pains strike, shine some light on it

Let’s face it.

Farm life can be both an exnihilating challenge and a real pain in the neck.

Spring is when I really feel it. Coming off a winter of fewer big chores, and launching into digging in the garden, moving compost, bending to weed, hauling irrigation hoses around, and handling extra feed for the babies, spring comes with a whole lot of aches and pains. I’m just not getting any younger it seems.

Reactivation of old injuries, sore hands, tired feet, and lower back pain are a few of the signs that spring has arrived on the farm.

That’s why I am thrilled to have learned about Red Light Therapy and what it can do for overworked muscles and aching joints. What’s more, red light therapy has profound and long lasting physiological effects which make it my new go-to farm aid.

Here’s what I have learned.

What is Red Light Therapy?

As I wrote in a recent Substack neswletter for The Naturalized Human:

“Red Light Therapy (RLT) is a non-invasive treatment that exposes your body to red light (which you can see) and/or near-infrared light (which you cannot see) to help you heal faster with minimal side effects. 

The light waves are capable of penetrating through the skin and all the way to the bone. This light energy stimulates the cells and triggers improved cellular repair, collagen synthesis, immune response, and reduced inflammation and pain. ” (read more here)

It sounds like science-fiction in a way. Right? How can exposure to a red light unit do all of that?

The thing is there are decades of studies showing that it can.

I started using a Kala Red Light Mini back in Dec 2023 to help with intense joint pain I was experiencing from a farm injury. With just 10 minutes a day of exposing my hand to the red light unit, I started to experience less pain and less inflammation of my finger joints. Within a week my fingers were starting to move better. Now months later, I only need to treat my hand a couple of times a week to experience the benefits and I have almost regained full function of my hand.

I use my red light mini on sore muscles with soothing and lasting results – feet, back, shoulder – they all respond well.

Red light treatment is even supposed to reduce the signs of aging on your face. That protocol looks to be using the light for 5 to 10 minutes twice a week, a very doable addition to any beauty routine if you ask me. The expected result is fewer wrinkles, improved skin quality, reduced pore size and so on. I’ve only started trying this out – so stay tuned as to whether I think it has made a difference.

The light works by triggering the mitochondria in your cells to make more energy. When cells have more energy, they use up more sugar from your blood stream, they perform their functions better and they generate collagen and other repair factors which speeds healing. Hence, shining the light on your face triggers your facial skin to go into repair mode.

Works on Animals Too

I think one of the most interesting things about owning a red light unit is that I can use it on my animals too.

Right now, I am using it on my dog who has inflamed skin from an allergic reaction. While I am working to figure out what the allergic trigger is, I have been giving her red light treatments to soothe her skin and reduce the inflammation. She is more than happy to lie there under the red light. Studies suggest that red light treatment can have an initial effect in as few as three treatments, and provide lasting support for animal immune systems.

That makes my Kala Red Light Mini one of the best new tools on my farm in terms of having immediate access to non-invasive pain relief related to muscle strain, injuries and wounds for my animals.

My Recommendation

So given the high cost of veterinary care, and the potential side effects from taking pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs, the red light treatments seem like a good place to start for non-emergency care for me and my animals. I love my Kala Red Light Mini.

Of course, I am not a veterinarian or a medical doctor, and therefore nothing in this post should be construed as medical or veterinary advice. This has simply been my experience using this device and for me it is worth every penny of the investment I made. In fact, I’d like to also get the larger unit so more of me can enjoy the benefits of red light at once. But the benefit of the Mini is that it is rechargeable and fully portable.

If you are interested in receiving a 15% discount on your first purchase, you can use my Kala affiliate link and share it with family or friends: https://snwbl.io/kalatherapy/SUSAN53799