Surgery Recovery

Surgery Recovery

No matter how minor, recovering from any type of surgery or medical/dental procedure can be a painful and arduous ordeal for any patient. Healing can take time and may involve limiting certain activities for a period of time until fully recovered. Therapeutic Light Therapy is an excellent way to both prepare for surgery and recover post operatively. 

What is Therapeutic Light Therapy?

Therapeutic light therapy or photo-biomodulation, is a non-invasive and pleasant way to increase circulation, reduce inflammation, and therefore, significantly decrease pain for many people. Many of us at ILH use the lights as our. ‘ibuprofen’ - go get the light pads FIRST before reaching for a pharmaceutical, and truly, 8 times out of 10, there is no need for meds from our personal experiences.

Therapeutic Light Therapy is administered right to the “trouble” area, thus the term “targeted light therapy” versus a light bed that covers the entire body. The targeted pads are UNIQUE that they go to the source of issue and not systemically - better felt results and fast because of this. It works by using wavelengths to boost cell repair. The biggest factor to the therapy is that it has the ability to penetrate different depths through the layers of the skin: some pads go below the epidermis only a few millimeters, and others are designed go deeper to inches and reach closer to the bone.

Light Therapy can be used with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) combined or by itself. The two together have been researched to be highly affective!

What is the “light” in Therapeutic Light Therapy?

There are a few more commonly researched light waves, and the growing popularity of them for home and office use, is helping the industry prove how well they really work.

At In Light Hyperbarics (ILH), we use the four most common light waves: 

  • Near Infrared – This is known for relaxing muscle tissue and increasing blood flow to local areas. Near Infrared penetrates the deepest into the skin.

  • Red – This is the ideal light for stimulating and speeding up the healing process, including surgery recovery, and reaches depths through the epidermis, but not quite to the deeper muscle/bone areas.

  • Blue – Blue waves are calming and great for fighting bacterial infections issues closer to the surface of the skin and can reach just millimeters below the epidermis.

  • Far Infrared – This light therapy is most beneficial for detoxification because of the depths it reaches to stimulate cellular dump, but is also good for increasing circulation and relaxing muscle tissue at the same time. 

In preparing for surgery, Light Therapy has the following benefits:

  • Helps to prevent inflammation and oxidative stress (excess free radicals in the cells)

  • Strengthens cells and increases their resiliency 

  • Strengthens body tissue

  • Conditions the body pre-surgery with O2 filled cels for repair

Actively preparing for surgery can increase the chances of success and also help the patient to recover faster and with less pain. 

After surgery, Light Therapy can be beneficial by: 

  • Decreasing inflammation 

  • Promoting incisions to heal 

  • Pain relief 

When can Light Therapy be used after surgery?

Some research suggests that to receive the most benefits of Light Therapy after surgery, it’s best to use the therapy in the first days and not weeks after surgery. Studies show that using Light Therapy in this timeframe can help reduce pain and healing downtime. Studies also show that cells can grow between 150% - 200% faster if exposed to the correct amount of LED (light emitted diodes) light. 

Light Therapy can also help heal scars.

Light Therapy helps to reduce both chronic and acute inflammation, including post-operative inflammation. The cells that are exposed to Light Therapy have also been shown to benefit from the therapy by producing new blood vessels (angiogenesis), forming new tissue, and new fibroblasts. This creates the ideal environment for better healing due to circulation promotion. No circulation = dying cells / Promotion of circulation = tough working cells.

ILH uses the LS Pro Light System as our system of choice!

LS Pro is a professional grade, FDA - Class II medical device using near infrared, red and blue light waves to transmit and promote healing energy to the cells of the body. The LS Pro Light System pads are placed directly to the “trouble area” as “targetted therapy” is the key here - getting close enough to the injury or area of concern.

The light pads encourage the release of nitric oxide from blood cells. When the nitric oxide is released from hemoglobin it has an anti-inflammatory impact on the body that can give relief and regenerate tissue, which can decrease pain and increase circulation.

The Light Therapy that we offer at ILH can be used in conjunction with our MILD Hyperbaric chambers during a session, or it can be used as a standalone modality. ILH owners, Edna Ness & Cait Wilson have over 13 years of experience with LED Light Therapy pads, including personally using them DAILY. We’ve helped people after surgery and with their aches & pains, and we can help you, too! GIVE US A CALL - WE TRULY CARE!