Sports and Performance Recovery

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Athletes understand that small gains can lead to big results.

To reach an elite level in any sport, athletes need to pay attention to their diet, sleep, and recovery habits. Niggles and injuries are frustrating for an athlete and can set them back days or weeks, delaying them in reaching their goals.

By recovering properly, using methods such as ice baths, massage, and other physiotherapy treatments, athletes enable themselves to perform well day after day.

Whether you’re carrying an injury or looking to improve your performance, red light therapy might be the recovery tool you need.

Through a powerful combination of red light and near-infrared wavelengths, Ruby LED can help athletes perform better and recover faster.

Red light at 660nm, stimulates the skin cells, whilst near-infrared light, at 850nm, energizes the muscle cells that lie deeper within the body.

Ruby LED devices can be used before training sessions to energize the body and reduce muscle strain throughout the session. They are also effectively used as part of a post-training routine, to speed the recovery process. Here are just some of the ways that red light therapy can aid your performance

Recovery Times

Red light therapy can be used to improve recovery times by enhancing blood flow, reducing inflammation, and stimulating muscle cells.

When our bodies are under strain during training, tiny tears occur in the muscles. With rest, these tiny tears heal and rebuild stronger. Near-infrared light penetrates the muscle cells and speeds the healing of these tiny tears.

Red light therapy has also been shown to activate stem cell production which helps build healthy muscle tissue and aid the repair of ligaments and tendons.

A study on injured university athletes showed that red light therapy enabled them to return to play quicker. Athletes who incorporated light therapy as part of their rehabilitation had a mean return to play time of 9.6 days, compared to 19.23 days for those who didn’t use red light therapy. 

Pain

Red light therapy can offer pain relief for both acute and overuse injuries by increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation.

Aside from the warm, soothing relief that red light can immediately provide, the near-infrared light helps manage pain at a deeper level.

Athletes have repeatedly reported experiencing lower levels of pain after treatment with red light therapy.

Muscle Growth

Red light therapy can stimulate the growth of new myonuclei (muscle cells) and promote hypertrophy.

Studies have shown that the use of red light therapy increases muscle mass gained after training.3

Endurance and Speed

Red light therapy energizes the body at a cellular level which can positively affect an athlete’s endurance and speed.

 In fact, the US track team took a red light pod with them to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Studies on futsal players and cyclists have shown that red light therapy significantly improves endurance.

Whilst a study on rugby players showed that red light therapy can also significantly improve sprint performance

Muscle Growth

Red light therapy can promote deep and restful sleep which is critical to athletic performance.

A study on Chinese basketballers showed this with red light therapy improving their sleep quality and performance.

Red light therapy is used by professional athletes and trainers worldwide to enhance performance and promote recovery.

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Studies on Sports Performance and Recovery

1Foley, John, et al. “830 nm light-emitting diode (led) phototherapy significantly reduced return-to-play in injured university athletes: a pilot study.” LASER THERAPY, vol. 25, no. 1, 31 Mar. 2016, pp. 35-42.

2Morimoto, Yusuke, et al. “Low level laser therapy for sports injuries.” LASER THERAPY, vol. 22, no. 1, 2013, pp. 17-20.

3Ferraresi, Cleber, et al. “Photobiomodulation in human muscle tissue: an advantage in sports performance?” Journal of Biophotonics, vol. 9, no. 11-12, 22 Nov. 2016, pp. 1273-1299.

4De Marchi, Thiago, et al. “Photobiomodulation therapy before futsal matches improves the staying time of athletes in the court and accelerates post-exercise recovery.” Lasers in Medical Science, vol. 34, no. 1, 27 Sept. 2018, pp. 139-148.

5Lanferdini, Fábio J., et al. “Improvement of Performance and Reduction of Fatigue With Low-Level Laser Therapy in Competitive Cyclists.” International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, vol. 13, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2018, pp. 14-22.

6Pinto, Henrique D., et al. “Photobiomodulation Therapy Improves Performance and Accelerates Recovery of High-Level Rugby Players in Field Test: A Randomized, Crossover, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 30, no. 12, 30 Dec. 2016, pp. 3329-3338.

7Zhao, Jiexiu, et al. “Red Light and the Sleep Quality and Endurance Performance of Chinese Female Basketball Players.” Journal of Athletic Training, vol. 47, no. 6, Dec. 2012, pp. 673-678.