Everyone has experienced some form of physical pain from time to time. It's normal, and pain is the way your body lets you know that something is off-balance.
How Do Infrared Saunas Decrease Pain?
Taking pills to reduce pain can be effective but does come with some side effects. The best thing to do is to find the underlying cause of your chronic pain and try to treat your symptoms naturally. This is where infrared saunas come into the picture since they are a go-to tool for relieving pain and can help many people who suffer from several health issues, particularly when dealing with chronic pain.
You have probably read some infrared sauna reviews and came across the details that infrared saunas use infrared light to penetrate deep into your skin to increase your core temperature. This is the opposite of a traditional sauna that heats the air to extreme temperatures before it heats your body. As a result of these discrepancies, a home infrared sauna that operates with infrared technology does not heat up to unbearable temperatures, which lets you spend more time inside the unit reaping all the amazing health benefits.
Infrared saunas usually give off far infrared wavelengths, however, the infrared spectrum is made up of three different wavelengths, and each of these has their own healing potentials. For instance, near infrared (NIR) travels the least part of the skin’s barrier so it provides more help on the surface level by battling the signs of aging and helping to heal injuries. Mid infrared (MIR) penetrates a little deeper to help lower inflammation and chronic pain, whereas far infrared (FIR) can travel the deepest into the body to help with chronic pain and eliminate toxins. So, when you are comparing the infrared sauna cost of a home infrared sauna, keep your eyes open for these different types of wavelengths.
What Types Of Chronic Pain Can An Infrared Sauna Help You With?
If you are suffering from chronic pain, you should know that it could arise from several factors such as hormone imbalances, not enough sleep, too much exercise, an overwhelming amount of toxins, or underlying stomach issues. No matter where your pain comes from, infrared saunas have been scientifically proven to lessen common pain that is linked to many common health issues. Here are a few that can cause chronic pain.
Inflammation
Inflammation is the main and continual cause of all modern-day health issues including autoimmune conditions, heart disease and even cancer. Infrared saunas are good at stimulating blood circulation to decrease inflammation throughout the entire body. You may not be officially diagnosed with one of these inflammation conditions, but athletes or anyone physically active can take advantage of an infrared sauna to lower muscle inflammation that happens after a workout. Also, an infrared sauna can increase the production of white blood cells which help to fight off inflammation and reduce swelling to give you some relief from your chronic pain.
Fibromyalgia
About a million Americans are affected with Fibromyalgia which is a chronic condition that causes headaches, fatigue and stiffness, as well as pain in muscles, joints and tendons. A study conducted in Japan found that after only one infrared sauna session, participants felt a 70 percent decrease in their pain levels.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Based on information from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to be diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome a person has to be experiencing muscle pain and pain in many joints without any evidence of redness or swelling for at least six months. In 2015, a study was conducted which revealed that after fifteen to twenty-five infrared sauna sessions, the patient’s symptoms such as pain and fatigue were dramatically reduced. Even after treatment was stopped, symptoms either didn’t come back or get any worse.
Additionally, chronic fatigue syndrome is linked to an overload of toxins in the body’s cells. Regularly sitting in an infrared sauna for 30 minutes per day, is a proven way to detox cells because excessive sweating encourages the removal of toxins. Other symptoms that routine infrared sauna use can help with, besides pain and fatigue, are lack of sleep, loss of memory or concentration, sore throat, and fever.
Arthritis
Further research has revealed that infrared saunas can lower pain in people who suffer from severe conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, which are gradual inflammatory auto-immune conditions where the body’s immune system attacks the joints. The person affected experiences extreme pain and stiffness because of these auto-immune ailments. Infrared wavelengths encourage blood circulation which helps to alleviate stiff joints and sore muscles.