Red light therapy for injuries

Deborah C. Escalante

Elite pro athletes, trainers, and sports medicine professionals are using Joovv red light therapy to rehab and recover from sports injuries faster, with less pain and inflammation.

Joovv’s red light therapy devices are used by pro athletes across the sports world to train, enhance performance, and speed up the muscle recovery process. Red light therapy is also a go-to treatment for rehabbing sports injuries, with a large base of peer-reviewed clinical research behind it, and lots of elite athletes who have gotten back on the field faster.

Pro Athletes and Sports Medicine Experts Use Joovv for Injury Rehab

Joovv’s devices can be found across the pro sports world. NFL stars like Patrick Peterson, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Tyrann Mathieu are Joovvin’ to stay healthy. Chargers star WR Keenan Allen missed the 2016 season with a knee injury before working Joovv into his training in the last few years. Since then, Keenan has exploded into one of the best pass catchers in football in 2017 and 2018, and hasn’t looked back.

Sports Medicine Pros and Trainers Trust Joovv for Injury Recovery

The best minds in sports medicine use Joovv to help their athletes recover from injuries. Joovv is proud to be an official red light therapy provider of the National Academy of Sports Medicine. You can also find some of the world-class trainers using Joovv, like Ben Greenfield and Lacey Stone.

The world’s best golfers have to overcome joint pain, inflammation, and nagging injuries to play their best. That’s why the PGA’s top trainers use Joovv.

Dr. Ara Suppiah works with major champions like Phil Mickleson and Bubba Watson, and he’s a big believer in red light therapy for injury recovery.

Dr. Troy Van Biezen is another leading PGA trainer, with clients like Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, and Zach Johnson. He uses Joovv himself, and recommends it to his pro golfers for pain and strain. Golfers have taken note, with most of the best players in the world using Joovv to stay healthy and fresh.

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Joovv has also teamed up with OsteoStrong, the leading national bone health clinic, to provide healing red light therapy treatments to patients looking to strengthen their bones, recover from fractures and sprains, and treat osteoporosis.

Research Shows Light Therapy Speeds Healing of Sports Injuries

The sports injury rehabilitation benefits of light therapy have also been demonstrated across a large base of peer-reviewed clinical research. Let’s take a look at what medical science has to say about healing injuries with natural light treatments. You can also read more about how red light therapy improves muscle recovery here, and how natural light treatments relieve joint pain and naturally reduce inflammation.

Athletes of All Ages Return From Injury Faster with Red Light Therapy

A major study of college athletes in 2016 showed that red light therapy treatments helped players get back on the field significantly faster than those who didn’t use red light. Researchers treated a wide range of common sports injuries with near infrared light and found:

  • Athletes Return to Play Faster with Red Light: Athletes improved their return to play time almost 10 whole days using light therapy, versus placebo.
  • Players Liked Natural Light Treatments: 79% of student athletes reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the results of light therapy for their injury rehab, versus only 7% who were unsatisfied.
  • Light Therapy was More Effective than Ice: Researchers concluded: “We believe [red light therapy] will be even more effective than ice because it is working from the inside of the injury outwards, with the deep penetration capability of the 830 nm wavelength ensuring photoactivation and repair of the compromised cells in the injured tissues.” [1]

Recovering from Achilles and Ankle Injuries with Light Therapy

Hurting your Achilles tendon is one of the most debilitating sports injuries. One recent systematic review looked at three studies related to red light therapy and the treatment of tendinopathy. Researchers concluded that “the use of red light therapy compared to placebo, is effective in the treatment of tendinopathy” [2]

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A separate study combined red light therapy with eccentric exercises, the most commonly prescribed recovery for Achilles injuries. 52 athletes were split into a light therapy group and a placebo group. Researchers found that athletes using light therapy saw positive results 3 times faster than athletes who received placebo treatment. They concluded that “red light therapy demonstrates consistent results in the treatment of tendinopathy.” [3]

Light Therapy for Ankle Relief: A 2019 study found that light therapy is also effective in the immediate treatment of sprained ankles [4]. In a separate 2018 study, light therapy was found to actively reduce edema in the initial phase of ankle sprains as well. [5]

Rehabbing Knee Injuries and Meniscal Tears with Light Therapy

A 2013 study found that people with meniscal tears who were treated with light therapy saw significantly reduced pain and increased functionality. Researchers concluded that near infrared light treatment should be considered in patients with meniscal tears who do not wish to undergo surgery. [6]

A study from 2014 found that combined red and near infrared light therapy was effective in reducing knee pain, while improving the quality of life in patients with knee injuries. [7] A primary reason red light therapy is so effective for healing joint, bone, and soft tissue injuries is the major collagen boost you get from natural light treatments.

Patellar Tendonitis, also called “jumper’s knee,” is caused by excess inflammation in your patellar tendon, and can lead to tears if it’s not treated. [8] A 2013 study showed that 75% of jumper’s knee patients found success with red light therapy treatments, among both men and women. Researchers concluded that “red light therapy is an effective treatment for sports injuries, particularly jumper’s knee.” [9]

Relief from Tennis Elbow with Red and Near Infrared Light

Lateral epicondylitis, aka tennis elbow, is a painful tendon condition caused by repetitive wrist and arm motion. It plagues tennis players, but is also common among painters, carpenters, and plumbers. [10] This often leads to invasive surgery, but light therapy can make a big difference for tennis elbow.

In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial from 2013, patients received either light therapy or a sham treatment. Those who received light therapy saw significantly improved hand grip strength, and improved elbow and arm function. Researchers also documented a major decrease in pain. [11]

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Several other clinical studies have also shown light therapy’s pain relief benefits for people with tennis elbow. [12,13,14]

Light Therapy Helps You Heal and Rehab Sports Injuries Faster, with Less Pain

From elite pro athletes to world-class trainers and sports medicine professionals, the best in athletics are using light therapy to treat injuries, improve rehab, reduce pain and inflammation, and recover function. Joovv is working wonders for injury recovery in the sports world, and it can do the same for you. Cutting-edge clinical research backs that up, with hundreds of peer-reviewed clinical studies showing the recovery benefits of red and near infrared light.

Sources and References:
[1] John Foley, David B Vasily, et al. 830 nm light-emitting diode (led) phototherapy significantly reduced return-to-play in injured university athletes: a pilot study. Laser Therapy. 2016 Mar.
[2] Nogueira AC Jr, Júnior Mde J. The effects of laser treatment in tendinopathy: a systematic review. Acta Orthopaedica Brasileira. 015 Jan-Feb.
[3] Stergioulas A, Stergioula M, et al. Effects of low-level laser therapy and eccentric exercises in the treatment of recreational athletes with chronic achilles tendinopathy. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2008 May.
[4] Calin MA, Badila A, et al. Fractionated Irradiation in Photobiomodulation Therapy of Ankle Sprain. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2019 Aug.
[5] de Moraes Prianti B, Novello GF, et al. Evaluation of the therapeutic effects of led (λ627 ± 10 nm) on the initial phase of ankle sprain treatment: a randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial. Lasers in Medical Science. 2018 Jul.
[6] Malliaropoulos N, Kiritsi O, et al. Low-level laser therapy in meniscal pathology: a double-blinded placebo-controlled trial. Lasers in Medical Science. 2013 Jul.
[7] Leal-Junior EC1, Johnson DS, et al. Adjunctive use of combination of super-pulsed laser and light-emitting diodes phototherapy on nonspecific knee pain: double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial. Lasers in Medical Science. 2014 Nov
[8] John Hopkins Medicine.
[9] Yusuke Morimoto, Akiyoshi Saito, et al. Low level laser therapy for sports injuries. Laser Therapy. 2013.
[10] Mayo Clinic.
[11] Roberts DB, Kruse RJ, et al. The effectiveness of therapeutic class IV (10 W) laser treatment for epicondylitis. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. 2013 Jul.
[12] Bjordal JM, Lopes-Martins RA, et al. A systematic review with procedural assessments and meta-analysis of low level laser therapy in lateral elbow tendinopathy (tennis elbow).vBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2008 May.
[13] Baktir S, Razak Ozdincler A, et al. The short-term effectiveness of low-level laser, phonophoresis, and iontophoresis in patients with lateral epicondylosis. Journal of Hand Therapy. 2018 Feb.
[14] Celik D, Anaforoglu Kulunkoglu B. Photobiomodulation Therapy Versus Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy in the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis. Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine, and Laser Surgery. 2019 May.

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