My body has been going through it this year. If you’ve been following along on the blog or social media…you’ll know. However if you haven’t been…I’ll give you a quick update. I injured my ankle last year at the gym. I ignored it aka…treated it like a sprain as I have dozens of times in my life. A few months later I had weird pain in my hamstring, glute, knee on that same side show up and last for months (stopped going to the gym as all those things made it worse). I completely broke in April after a horse show (like had to hobble into my house from my car I was so lame). I didn’t ride for over a month after that I hurt so much. Six months later I know this…I have boney degenerative problems in my back. I have evidence of a tendon and ligament tear in the recent past in my ankle and now two other tendon sheaths were badly inflamed on that ankle due to compensation for the other damage. I’ve also got something going on in my SI. I’ve been seeing 3 different physical therapists. I’ve had injections. I’ve been on the daily using infrared therapy from a couple of different brands. Most recently I was contacted by Lumaflex to see if I would be interested in trying their product and writing a review. Of course…being in as much daily pain as I’ve been in…I said absolutely yes! I was sent the Lumaflex Body Pro in early September and have been using it every day since.
Uniquely (unlike any other product I’ve ever bought) this one came with an educational course…which was extremely interesting and taught me about why this seemingly voodoo magic of red light actually helps the body. I learned a TON about it (which I previously knew little to none) and I feel much more comfortable using red light knowing a lot more about how it functions/dosing/etc. I thought that was a cool thing to add (and for someone like me who loves to learn…it was perfect). They outlined how the red light therapy does three primary things 1. Increase Blood Flow 2. Increase Cellular Energy and 3. Reduce Inflammation. All of those things increase your body’s ability to heal itself.
Okay onto the device. They have three different devices with different options included. The Body Pro (which is what I received) is the top of the line. It features a removable/rechargable battery so you can just switch to a new one if you’ve forgotten to charge it and it runs out. It’s also the only waterproof version, so you can wear it in an ice bath if you really wanted to. I would die in an ice bath because I’m a wuss, but you CAN do that if you want. Because it’s waterproof, there’s absolutely no concerns on cleaning it and I can take it to the barn to use on Jax and not feel gross about taking it back home and using it on myself. It’s easy to wipe off/rinse off. It’s also a pretty compact size, so easy to take around with you (pack in a suitcase for travel for instance). It’s a lot more portable than the other red light devices I’ve used before. It’s also super easy to charge (just plug into any USB-C).
It’s an interesting size/shape which makes it more suitable for certain parts of the body than others. Because of the sizing/stiffness of where the battery goes, for sure works best on certain areas for size. Neck and ankles are a little harder to adjust to. Perfect on the back or arm or leg or other tubular part of the body really. It comes with two different strap options (short and long) to adjust the device to fit certain areas.
The Pro also has access to an app where you can change the frequency range to focus on certain issues (pain, hair growth, wrinkles, etc). Fancy! I mostly use it for pain relief, but have also used it on the hair mode on my head…to which my husband laughs at me as I strap it to my head like a goofy hat…but oh well. Laugh on buddy. I use this at least once a day. Every night I do a round on my lower back, then my mid back, then my ankle. I will also occasionally use it on a shoulder or neck. Some days I use it on my lower back an additional time to help with pain.
It actually took me a few weeks to realize there WAS an app I could use…which has been a game changer. The initial uses, I just turned it on and turned the activation button on to start it and the cycle lasted 10 minutes at a certain frequency. With the app, you can adjust both of those things to make it longer or change the frequency of the light to go a little shallower or a little deeper. There’s a little buzz when it’s done…but it’s not always obvious to me when it buzzes off, so I check the light every so often to see if it’s on or off.
So what has it done for me? Well it does provide pain relief in just 10-15 minutes. Does it make the pain go away and never come back? No…but it does enough that I’m able to fall asleep afterward (even if it doesn’t keep me pain free for the whole night every night). It won’t heal my back…nothing is going to do that…however it CAN help heal my ankle damage…and it has! My ankle PT was THRILLED the last session because I had come along so quickly. She thought maybe I didn’t need anymore PT if I was happy just being able to walk (and nothing else). She was surprised the healing had progressed that quickly and I think that the infrared treatments I had been doing had everything to do with that (and religiously doing my PT and wearing the right support). It was so bad when I first got my MRI on June 30th…they told me that if I’d kept going on it like I had, I would have ruptured a tendon…now here we are 3 and a half months later and I’m pretty good on the ankle. I can stand barefoot for long enough to take a shower…which was impossible to do just a little over a month ago.
I’ve only just started using it on my head/hair…so I can’t tell you much about that yet…but hopefully it helps me keep more of my hair as I go through my normal cycles of my thyroid not working as it’s been doing for a decade now. I’ll update on that in the future. I can certainly feel the increased blood flow to my scalp after I’ve done that treatment which is a good sign.
I have taken it to the barn to try it on Jax and it works fine on him. He doesn’t like it attached to his legs at all…so I just don’t do that. He does like it on his back. I do find it a little harder as it’s fairly small for an animal that large, but it can easily be held onto the SI or back or strapped around an ankle or hock. I didn’t really figure out how to attach it to the pole because of the stiffness of the battery. I think some different sized straps (like something in the middle of the two) would make it more useful for a horse. They do even have a program on their website talking about using it for horses, but to be real…this is mostly going to just stay home with me. HA! But I wanted to let you know it can be used on your horse too (or dog or whatever).
There are two other devices from them at a lower price point. The Essential ($399) is pretty basic but much more inexpensive (not waterproof, no removable battery, no adjustable frequency ranges). The Essential Pro is their newest release and is in the middle(ish) at $599. It’s got adjustable frequency ranges, but isn’t waterproof and doesn’t have a removable battery. I would for sure go with the adjustable frequency personally…I think it’s worth the extra for what I want to use it for. The Pro ($689) is actually only a little bit more than the Essential Pro…so if waterproof and a removable battery are important to you…the price increase for those benefits isn’t too bad. You can also use HSA on it when you buy which is nice. It is an expensive device, but infrared devices are expensive across the board and this one’s ease of entry is super and the ability to adjust frequency to target different things is excellent.
This red light device has become a daily go-to item in my life. I’ve had zero problems with it and it has helped my body a lot. It’s become part of my wind-down every night while I watch some TV or read before bed. I run it on multiple sections of my back as well as my ankle. I’ve also used it during my PT a few times on my back. It has been indispensable to help my body be in less regular pain. I’ve also used this with success on my neck/head to help with tension headaches. I look forward to seeing how I feel after another few months of use with this. It’s really such a cool piece of technology that I’m grateful to have in my arsenal.
