Perhaps you’ve been struggling with the pain of plantar fasciitis or a foot wound that never seems to heal. Maybe you deal with peripheral artery disease (PAD) or neuropathy. When you have any type of foot pain, it can interfere with your quality of life in a significant way. Every step can be a battle, and you may change your daily plans, exercise routines, and social outings because it’s too painful to spend time on your feet. Chronic foot problems can make working a challenge if your job requires a lot of standing or walking.
If foot pain has become a part of your life, there’s an innovative therapy that may provide relief. At Central Kansas Podiatry Associates, our skilled podiatrist, Dr. Benjamin Weaver, utilizes RedVive red light therapy to address many common foot conditions. He understands that when your feet hurt, it can reduce your quality of life and hold you back from enjoying what you love to do. Here, he discusses RedVive red light therapy and how it may be the answer for your chronic foot pain.
What Is Red Light Therapy?
Red light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation or low-level laser therapy (LLLT), exposes an area of the body to low-wavelength red light. This type of light penetrates through the skin and into deeper tissues.
Red and near-red infrared (NIR) light are two wavelengths that are emitted naturally by the sun. When those waves are used in targeted doses, they can have a healing effect on your body. RedVive devices emit specific wavelengths of light, typically around 660nm for red light and 850nm for near-infrared light, which are absorbed by the skin and underlying tissues. This absorption triggers a series of biochemical reactions that enhance cellular energy production, reduce oxidative stress, and promote healing processes within the body.
Specifically, NIR light has wavelengths that are longer than red light, and because they’re longer, they can penetrate further into the skin and tissue and reach muscles and deeper fat layers. These invisible wavelengths cause you to feel warmth on your skin from sources such as the sun, fire, incandescent light bulbs, and certain types of lasers.
Many podiatrists know the potential healing effects of NIR and use it in their clinics to help with the following:
- Deliver energy to cells, which can help with cell regeneration
- Accelerate tissue healing for ligament injuries such as ankle sprains
- Reduce inflammation
- Reduce pain
- Promote faster wound healing
- Improve range of motion and function - red light therapy may help improve mobility and gait
RedVive Red Light Therapy for Your Foot Pain
Red light therapy offers two key benefits for foot problems: it reduces pain and inflammation. Many common foot problems involve some degree of inflammation, which is the body's natural response to injury or disease. While some inflammatory response is necessary for healing, too much inflammation causes pain, swelling, and impaired recovery. Here are some of the foot and ankle conditions that may benefit from red light therapy:
- Plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. Red light therapy can help with the pain of plantar fasciitis. This therapy may reduce the inflammation of the thick band of tissue running along the bottom of the foot—the plantar fascia. Chronic inflammation and degeneration of the plantar fascia can cause tiny tears and a bony overgrowth called a heel spur to develop. RedVive red light therapy helps reduce inflammation and promotes tissue repair and collagen production to strengthen the area, which can lead to significant pain reduction.
- Diabetic and peripheral neuropathy. High blood sugar can damage the peripheral nerves, often starting in the feet. This may lead to numbness, tingling, burning, or sharp pains. Some research suggests red light therapy may reduce neuropathy symptoms and help improve blood flow to the affected nerves, potentially aiding in nerve repair and reducing symptoms.
- Achilles tendinitis. Red light therapy can help repair damaged tendon fibers and reduce chronic inflammation in the Achilles tendon area.
- Foot and ankle arthritis. Both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis can affect the joints in the feet, leading to pain, stiffness, and swelling. The anti-inflammatory effects of red light therapy may provide some symptom relief and improved mobility.
- Toenail fungus (Onychomycosis). Red light therapy, especially when combined with a photosensitizing serum or other treatments, can target and help disrupt fungal growth.
- Athlete's foot and cracked heels. Red light therapy has antimicrobial properties and can support skin regeneration and wound healing for conditions like athlete's foot and non-infected cracked heels.
- General pain and soreness. Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with a specific foot condition, you may experience sore, tired, achy feet from lots of walking, standing, and exercising, or wearing shoes that don’t have enough support. Red light therapy can be used to soothe general foot soreness and stiffness.
By triggering a boost in cellular energy with red light, this therapy helps modulate the inflammatory process and reduce associated pain. The anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects of red light make it a beneficial treatment for many foot problems involving damage or degeneration to soft tissues, such as tendons, ligaments, and fascia.
How Safe Is RedVive Red Light Therapy?
Red light therapy is a great treatment option because it’s non-invasive and safe. The clinical effectiveness and safety of red light therapy have been demonstrated across many health conditions in a variety of studies.
The most common side effect of red light therapy is skin redness or erythema, which is often mild and resolves on its own. This is due to the increased blood flow to superficial capillaries of the skin after exposure to the light. However, when used properly with the correct wavelength, power density, and duration, there are minimal to no side effects, and erythema should resolve with no additional treatment needed. Unlike most pharmacological treatment options, red light therapy has little risk of systemic side effects, making it an attractive option for many patients.
What to Expect at Your Appointment
When you come to Central Kansas Podiatry Associates for your appointment, you should wear comfortable clothing and remove lotions from the treatment area. You’ll relax while light is applied to the affected area. A typical treatment can be 3-9 minutes or longer, depending on the severity of the pain and area being treated.
During the treatment, you should feel little or no sensation. Occasionally, patients report feeling a mild, soothing warmth or tingling. Areas of pain or inflammation may be sensitive briefly before pain reduction. After the light therapy is completed, you can return to your normal activities. No downtime is required.
Your particular symptoms or pain may require multiple sessions to obtain the best results. Acute conditions may be treated daily, particularly if they are accompanied by significant pain. More chronic problems respond better when treatments are received 2-3 times a week, tapering to once a week or once every other week, with improvement.
Contact Central Kansas Podiatry Associates for Red Light Therapy
Dr. Weaver and his associates understand that persistent foot pain is more than distracting. It can interfere with your daily activities and make it difficult to live life to the fullest. RedVive red light therapy is a beneficial treatment to help relieve chronic foot pain; however, this treatment isn’t right for every patient, so it’s important to discuss it with Dr. Weaver. If RedVive is a good option for you, he will schedule your procedure, and you can take your first step to relieving your foot pain. The podiatry team at Central Kansas Podiatry Associates wants to help you get back to the activities you love. Read our testimonials to learn how we’ve helped our patients with RedVive red light therapy.
