Red Light Therapy After Surgery: Heal Faster

If you’ve recently undergone surgery, your top priority is to allow your body to heal properly. Going through surgery and recovering can be a long, difficult process. Most patients want to recover as quickly as possible and get back to regular activity. This is where red light therapy after surgery can help.

Red light therapy delivers wavelengths of low-level red and near-infrared light that stimulate natural recovery processes in the skin and body. When used correctly, red light therapy can decrease pain, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and speed the formation of new tissue after surgical procedures.

Precautions To Take

Certain precautions should be taken to use it safely and effectively after surgery:

Follow Your Surgeon’s Advice: Follow their recovery instructions first and ask when it is safe to introduce red light therapy.
Avoid Incisions: Do not directly apply red light to fresh incisions or wounds. Wait at least 48 hours after suture removal.
Watch for Signs of Overexposure: Start with brief 5-minute sessions twice a day. Gradually increase duration and frequency based on your comfort.
Insist On Rehabilitation Exercise: Keep diligently performing all rehab exercises, wound care, and follow-ups as directed.

When It Is Advisable To Start Treatment?

Here are some guidelines on when it’s feasible to begin sessions based on common surgical procedures:

General Surgery: Start 2-3 weeks after surgery once incisions have closed.
Orthopedic Surgery: Wait 2-4 weeks until the initial swelling has resolved.
Spinal Surgery: Begin 6-8 weeks post-operation when fusions are stable.
Heart Surgery: Start 2-4 weeks after surgery once the doctor approves light exercise.
Dental Surgery: Use 24 hours after extraction or implants. Avoid wounds.
Plastic Surgery: Wait 1 month for grafts and implants to stabilize.
Cesarean Section: Start 5-6 weeks after delivery once bleeding and discharge cease.
Hernia Repair: Begin 2-3 weeks after the procedure once pain and swelling subside.

The Science Behind Red Light Therapy for Post-Surgical Healing

By improving cellular function and energy, red light therapy accelerates every phase of the healing process for faster recovery from surgery. Science shows red light can have the following benefits when applied after surgery:

Decreases Pain and Swelling: The light reduces inflammatory chemicals to diminish common post-surgical pain and edema. This provides more comfort and mobility.
Accelerates Tissue Repair: Photobiomodulation from red light energizes cells and increases blood flow to speed the formation of new tissue in damaged areas.
Prevents Infection: By improving circulation and immunity, red light helps prevent postoperative infection of incisions and implant sites.
Reduces Scarring: The light stimulates skin cells and collagen to minimize scar tissue, improve texture, and reduce discoloration.
Quickens Bone Healing: Red light accelerates the repair processes that knit bone fragments together after fractures or skeletal surgery.
Improves Skin Healing: For procedures like face lifts, red light improves skin tone, elasticity, and complexion for optimal cosmetic outcomes.
Relieves Muscle and Nerve Pain: Red light alleviates post-surgical pain from trauma to muscles, nerves, and surrounding tissues.

How Does Red Light Therapy Heal Wounds?

Here’s an overview of how red light therapy works:

Increased Blood Flow: Red light stimulates the formation of new capillaries and nerves around wound sites. More blood supply delivers oxygen, nutrients, and healing factors.
Reduced Inflammation: Light decreases inflammatory chemicals like cytokines to reduce pain, swelling, and irritation around surgical sites.
Accelerated Cell Growth: Red light energizes cells and boosts ATP production to speed up the proliferation stage of healing.
Faster Tissue Regeneration: More collagen and granulation tissues form to fill wounds when cell activity is stimulated by red light.
Remodeling and Maturation: As new tissue develops, red light guides remodeling to maximize strength and function. Scarring is also minimized.
Immune Stimulation: Red light activates immune cells to prevent infection and clear debris from surgical wounds and implant sites.

Clinical Trials Support

In a study of recovery after surgery around the eye, red light therapy reduced the time for side effects to resolve and the healing time by half to a third compared to a control group that was not exposed to red light.

A 2014 study showed that the use of red light therapy after surgery improved early wound healing by enhancing angiogenesis.

In a study of scar hyperplasia after surgery, the red light group showed significant improvement in wounds, and the study demonstrated that red light therapy can reduce the formation of hyperplastic scars or keloids.

Safety For Red Light Therapy

Red light therapy is a drug-free, non-invasive treatment that is gentle on the body. This is preferable to some pain medications or other intensive therapies that can have side effects. With proper eye protection, anyone can safely benefit from red light therapy.

How To Incorporate Red Light Therapy Into Your Recovery Plan?

Here are tips for in-home use of red light therapy after surgery:

Start treatment a few days after surgery once bandages are removed.
Focus the light panel directly over incision sites and affected areas.
Use daily until satisfied with your rate of healing.
Adjust treatment distance and session times as needed based on your comfort.
Always follow postoperative guidance from your doctor.

Many patients report it helps to do light therapy after showering so the warm water opens pores for better absorption. Gels, creams, or oils can also boost light penetration. Combine red light therapy with other natural healing modalities like acupuncture, massage, and supplements for optimal results.

Why Reddot Is The Optimum Choice?

Powerful: The powerful power output provides sufficient energy for effective tissue penetration and biological effects.
Hands-Free: The product comes with a bottom bracket and a fixing bracket.
Home-Use: Lightweight, portable design can be used at home.
Warranty: Durable, high-quality LEDs provide 1-3 years warranty.
Safety: Award FCC, CE, ROHS, FDA certificates, and Proprietary Pulsing Technology for improved cellular stimulation.

Conclusion

Red light therapy devices are now accessible, affordable, and easy to use at home. By starting treatments a few days after surgery, you can activate your body’s natural healing powers. Don’t settle for a subpar recovery filled with discomfort and limitations. Choose red light therapy to heal as quickly and thoroughly as possible.