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How to use red light therapy to boost stem cell production
🕑 Added 2024-06-14 00:32:20 +0000 UTCIn a study titled 'Induction of autologous mesenchymal stem cells in the bone marrow by low-level laser therapy has profound beneficial effects on the infarcted rat heart' rats were given an experimentally induced heart attack, then researchers exposed the rats tibias (an area with lots of bone marrow) to 660nm red light and observed some surprisingly profound effects
"Infarct size and ventricular dilatation were significantly reduced (76% and 75%, respectively)'
We know that red light therapy has systemic health benefits (regardless of where it's applied) but I don't think this could account for such a dramatic improvement here. So what happened?
Here’s more from the paper:
'The application of LLLT to autologous BM of rats post-MI offers a novel approach to induce BM-derived MSCs, which are consequently recruited from the circulation to the infarcted heart and markedly attenuate the scarring process post-Ml'
In layman's terms, red light therapy applied to areas of the body rich in bone marrow (hips, tibia ect) may increase the level of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells, which then go into circulation where they're able to migrate towards 'damaged' areas. Red light has also been shown to ‘guide’ stem cell towards areas of injury.
So you could 1. Use red light for 15-20min on an area like the tibia to potentially release stem cells from the bone marrow, and then immediately apply red light directly to an injured area of the body to guide stem cell towards areas that need repair
This is obviously an animal study, but there’s really no downsides here. Only potential theoretical upsides if it pans out similarly in humans. I think combining this with bone marrow bio-regulators (bonomorat) as well as StemRegen (an herbal supplement that also promotes the release and differentiation of stem cells) could be useful in combination. I also believe that PEMF therapy could have some similar benefits
In a paper titled ‘Novel Single Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Stimulates Osteogenesis of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Bone Repair’ pulsed electromagnetic fields stimulated osteogenesis of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.
Red light + PEMF (performed on the tibia) could be (theoretically) a useful combination,
Just some cool thoughts for today!
Comments
Seb
Such a great post Grant! Could this be particularly useful for something like shin splints?
