Links to Longevity: Red Light Therapy for Golfers

Create on January 25, 2024

Introduction

As an avid golfer, are you frustrated with the decline in your physical performance? If yes, you might be trying to figure out how to feel best both on and off the course and improve your game. Worry not! I'm here to help you.

Golf is a fantastic game, but being a golfer, you know that it can cause many injuries. There are some common golf injuries, such as tendinitis in the wrist, hip injuries, knee pain, back pain, rotator cuff injuries, and golfer's elbow injuries that you may get. Suddenly, any movement or activity can become torturous, depending on the severity. In such a situation, pain should not be ignored. Instead, getting the condition treated as soon as possible would be better to lessen the discomfort.

Red light therapy become more popular in recent years for its potential role in healing and preventing several diseases, such as arthritis, muscle injury, etc. Additionally, red light therapy also has specific benefits to assist golfers in extending their careers and enhancing performance on the golf course.

Perks of Red Light Therapy for Golfers

Extensive research studies have shown multiple physical health and fitness-related advantages of red light therapy. Let's look deeper at the science-backed red light therapy benefits.

Faster Muscle Recovery

After a challenging round of golf, red light therapy facilitates a quicker recovery of muscles and enhances training potential. A study shows that red light therapy boosts muscle energy, lessens soreness, and improves athlete's muscle performance by increasing their workload capacity and resistance to fatigue. Overall, this therapy helps muscles to recover faster, thus allowing you to resume training more quickly.

Smooth and Flexible Joints

Sniff joints making you move like a rusty robot instead of a smooth golfer? Say bye-bye to that with red light therapy! It improves flexibility in muscles and joints, leading to smoother swings and increased power. It makes your muscles and joints more flexible, allowing you to move better. So, you can swing your clubs more effortlessly and maybe even hit that hole-in-one! It helps loosen up those tight muscles and joints, making you bend and flex like a brand-new buggy on the course.

Pain Reduction

Is it possible to relieve pain by shining a light on aching joints and muscles? Yes, according to Australian researchers who studied animals with spinal cord injuries, 670 nm light had a noticeable analgesic effect.

Red light therapy can alleviate pain in common golf injuries like golfer's elbow, back pain, and knee pain. It increases blood circulation, which boosts the amount of oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells flowing to the targeted parts of the body. As a result, it aids in the reduction of joint and tissue pain, stiffness, and inflammation.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine and Surgery suggested that low-level laser therapy reduces pain in a golfer's elbow with consequently improved functional ability.

Mental Focus and Sleep

Red light therapy doesn't just help your body; it energizes your mind, too! It has an important role in improving sleep quality, which is super important for feeling sharp on the course. It can improve focus and concentration, helping you line up that perfect shot. Studies indicate that it can enhance the quality of your sleep by producing more melatonin, which in turn helps to balance your body's circadian rhythm.

Help with Sport Performance and Injury Recovery

According to research published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, red light may activate your mitochondria. This may activate an enzyme that increases ATP, the "energy currency" of the cell, and ultimately aids in muscle growth and repair. For this reason, research published in AIMS Biophysics in 2017 suggests that photobiomodulation treatment (PBM) with red or near-infrared lights prior to exercise may improve muscle performance, heal muscle injury, and lessen pain and soreness after a workout.

Reduced Chronic Inflammation

Acute inflammation is a normal part of healing. It represents the body's mobilization of its healing processes. While chronic inflammation leads to oxidative stress, which is a significant contributor to mitochondrial dysfunction, it may be the reason behind frustrating injuries.

Red light expert Dr. Michael Hamblin has authored multiple research papers, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews and explained the anti-inflammatory properties of red light therapy in one of his papers. He mentioned two conditions that athletes commonly suffer from: Achilles tendinopathy and knee arthritis, both of which greatly benefit from reduced inflammation through red light therapy.

Things to Consider

If you're planning to invest in a red light therapy device, keep a few things in your mind.

• Always choose a device with high-quality medical-grade LED lights
• Make sure to get your hands on a device that emits both red and near-red infrared light because these wavelengths have been proven to be the most beneficial.
• Also, consider the portability and size of the device. If you want to use it at your home, a larger panel will be suitable for whole-body treatment. However, a handheld device that makes contact with the skin might be a better choice if you're searching for something more portable that targets particular conditions.
• Pay attention to the treatment interval and frequency recommendations provided by the manufacturer.
• Just use the device no more than three times a day for each 20-minute session.

Conclusion

Red light therapy has unique features and benefits that can be particularly helpful for golfers. From overuse tendon recovery like golfer's elbow to improved muscle recovery and range of motion to enhance skin health and reduce stress, this non-invasive treatment can help golfers perform their best both on and off the course. If you're interested in improving your game and feel your best both on and off the course, Bestqool red light therapy may be worth considering. With regular use, you may be surprised at how much red light therapy can improve your game and overall well-being.

References

1. Ferraresi, C., Huang, Y., & Hamblin, M. R. (2016). Photobiomodulation in human muscle tissue: An advantage in sports performance? Journal of Biophotonics, 9(11–12), 1273.
2. Hamblin, M. R. (2017). Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation. AIMS Biophysics, 4(3), 337.
3. Simunovic, Z., Trobonjaca, T., & Trobonjaca, Z. (1998). Treatment of medial and lateral epicondylitis--tennis and golfer's elbow-with low level laser therapy: a multicenter double blind, placebo-controlled clinical study on 324 patients. Journal of clinical laser medicine & surgery, 16(3), 145–151.
4. Ghigiarelli, J. J., Fulop, A. M., Burke, A. A., Ferrara, A. J., Sell, K. M., Gonzalez, A. M., Pelton, L. M., Zimmerman, J. A., Coke, S. G., & Marshall, D. G. (2020). The Effects of Whole-Body Photobiomodulation Light-Bed Therapy on Creatine Kinase and Salivary Interleukin-6 in a Sample of Trained Males: A Randomized, Crossover Study. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2, 502742.
5. Zhao, J., Tian, Y., Nie, J., Xu, J., & Liu, D. (2012). Red Light and the Sleep Quality and Endurance Performance of Chinese Female Basketball Players. Journal of Athletic Training, 47(6), 673-678.
6. Hu, D., Zhu, S., & Potas, J. R. (2016). Red LED photobiomodulation reduces pain hypersensitivity and improves sensorimotor function following mild T10 hemicontusion spinal cord injury. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 13(1).

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