Chronic Pain Crisis — How Can Red Light Therapy Help?
America’s Chronic Pain Crisis Demands New Remedies
By John Graham Harper, CEO of Lumaflex
Chronic pain has become a silent public health crisis in America. CDC statistics reveal that approximately 50 million American adults experience chronic pain, which can become a significant limiting factor in people’s quality of life. People may suffer from chronic pain for a variety of reasons, whether as a result of a workplace accident, a sports injury, or due to complications from other chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or arthritis. Unfortunately, people with chronic pain are also exposed to another public health crisis: America’s tragic opioid pain reliever overdose epidemic.
Let’s examine the interlinked challenges of chronic pain in America and new perspectives on how people can find real relief.
Too Many Pills, Not Enough Help
Research by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) found that 11% of Americans experience pain every day. People with chronic pain often receive prescription medications; the AAFP research also shows that 1 in 5 non-cancer pain patients receive prescribed opioids. It’s understandable that doctors and other health care professionals want to help people relieve their pain as quickly as possible. However, prescription pain relief can come with significant risks as well as benefits.
There is growing concern in the medical community and wellness community that opioids are being overprescribed, and that the risks of these medications are not being adequately considered. The AAFP states that in 2014, nearly 2 million Americans abused or were dependent on prescription opioids, and that every day, over 1,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms for misusing prescription opioids. More and more pain relief pills are appearing in American households: AAFP data shows that in 2012, doctors issued a total of 259 million prescriptions for opioids, which was equivalent to the number of all American adults at the time.
Sadly, this kind of misuse, abuse, and addiction to opioids can often lead to death. In 2021, 80,816 Americans died from opioid overdose. It is incredibly sad to think that so many of the people who died of overdose began their journey to addiction by simply trying to obtain relief from chronic pain.
The reliance on pain relief pills as the “only” solution for chronic pain has proven to be a failure. It is far too easy for people to be prescribed potentially addictive pills rather than to obtain real help that alleviates the root causes of their chronic pain. Instead of bombarding people with pills and enduring hundreds of thousands of avoidable, tragic deaths, America can find a better way to help people with pain relief.
Holistic Wellness and Chronic Pain Relief
I am a lifelong fitness advocate, a gym owner, a trainer and fitness and health educator, and a bodybuilder, former boxer, and martial arts enthusiast. In the world of fitness and athletic competition, the need for pain relief is nothing new. People sometimes sustain injuries in sports competition, or need support with muscle recovery to alleviate pain after a workout. Sports injuries even happen during casual exercise to people who are not “serious athletes.” We can all benefit from extra help with pain relief.
But instead of popping pills, many people who experience chronic pain can benefit from a more holistic approach. For example, the Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine offers a holistic approach to pain management that uses treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, and yoga. There is plenty of scientific research that shows the benefits of these types of treatments for alleviating chronic pain. When we look at the whole person and the overall causes of pain, it is often more complex than simply “taking a pill.”
For example, what if someone is experiencing chronic pain due to poor posture, lack of exercise, or being significantly overweight? Sometimes, increasing activity levels, changing one’s diet, losing a few pounds, and building up body strength and flexibility (with weightlifting, resistance training, or exercises like yoga) can make a big difference in one’s overall pain levels.
Red Light Therapy: A Game Changer in Everyday Health and Wellness
Another treatment for chronic pain that is garnering increasing attention from fitness enthusiasts and wellness experts is one that is near and dear to my heart: red light therapy. This is a natural, non-invasive treatment for pain and several other health and wellness issues. Red light therapy is a type of “photomedicine” that works by exposing the body to specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) light. When the light waves penetrate the surface of the skin, they help speed healing and increase blood flow by “energizing” the body’s muscles through activating the mitochondria—the “powerhouses”—of the muscle cells.
Red light therapy was first documented in 1903, and was researched by NASA scientists in the 1990s. Numerous clinical trials have shown that red light therapy can significantly improve muscle recovery, muscle endurance, joint function, and other key indicators for athletic performance and everyday wellness. Red light therapy can help relieve neuropathy, reduce inflammation, and alleviate muscle and joint pain. And red light therapy carries no risk of addiction and overdose, unlike the tragic side effects of prescription opioids.
America is suffering from a chronic pain crisis. Rather than just filling prescription drug cabinets, it’s time for more creative and open-minded solutions that focus on the health and wellness of the whole person. People with chronic pain need real help, not just more pills. Red light therapy, yoga, better nutrition, exercise, dietetics, and fitness coaching can all be part of a more holistic approach to chronic pain.
As a lifelong fitness enthusiast, I’m passionate about human achievement and inspired by human potential. I believe that people of all fitness levels and from all backgrounds can achieve great gains in their health and wellness. People who suffer from chronic pain do not deserve to be abandoned to addiction and early death. They need to know that the community cares about them, and that we want them to thrive and be their best selves. Our fellow humans’ lives are worth saving. People’s everyday health and quality of life are worth supporting.
Red light therapy can be part of a broader, long-overdue conversation in the public health and medical communities about how non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical treatments can create more effective chronic pain management. Let’s do it!
America’s Chronic Pain Crisis Demands New Remedies
By John Graham Harper, CEO of Lumaflex
Chronic pain has become a silent public health crisis in America. CDC statistics reveal that approximately 50 million American adults experience chronic pain, which can become a significant limiting factor in people’s quality of life. People may suffer from chronic pain for a variety of reasons, whether as a result of a workplace accident, a sports injury, or due to complications from other chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or arthritis. Unfortunately, people with chronic pain are also exposed to another public health crisis: America’s tragic opioid pain reliever overdose epidemic.
Let’s examine the interlinked challenges of chronic pain in America and new perspectives on how people can find real relief.
Too Many Pills, Not Enough Help
Research by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) found that 11% of Americans experience pain every day. People with chronic pain often receive prescription medications; the AAFP research also shows that 1 in 5 non-cancer pain patients receive prescribed opioids. It’s understandable that doctors and other health care professionals want to help people relieve their pain as quickly as possible. However, prescription pain relief can come with significant risks as well as benefits.
There is growing concern in the medical community and wellness community that opioids are being overprescribed, and that the risks of these medications are not being adequately considered. The AAFP states that in 2014, nearly 2 million Americans abused or were dependent on prescription opioids, and that every day, over 1,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms for misusing prescription opioids. More and more pain relief pills are appearing in American households: AAFP data shows that in 2012, doctors issued a total of 259 million prescriptions for opioids, which was equivalent to the number of all American adults at the time.
Sadly, this kind of misuse, abuse, and addiction to opioids can often lead to death. In 2021, 80,816 Americans died from opioid overdose. It is incredibly sad to think that so many of the people who died of overdose began their journey to addiction by simply trying to obtain relief from chronic pain.
The reliance on pain relief pills as the “only” solution for chronic pain has proven to be a failure. It is far too easy for people to be prescribed potentially addictive pills rather than to obtain real help that alleviates the root causes of their chronic pain. Instead of bombarding people with pills and enduring hundreds of thousands of avoidable, tragic deaths, America can find a better way to help people with pain relief.
Holistic Wellness and Chronic Pain Relief
I am a lifelong fitness advocate, a gym owner, a trainer and fitness and health educator, and a bodybuilder, former boxer, and martial arts enthusiast. In the world of fitness and athletic competition, the need for pain relief is nothing new. People sometimes sustain injuries in sports competition, or need support with muscle recovery to alleviate pain after a workout. Sports injuries even happen during casual exercise to people who are not “serious athletes.” We can all benefit from extra help with pain relief.
But instead of popping pills, many people who experience chronic pain can benefit from a more holistic approach. For example, the Cleveland Clinic Center for Integrative & Lifestyle Medicine offers a holistic approach to pain management that uses treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, and yoga. There is plenty of scientific research that shows the benefits of these types of treatments for alleviating chronic pain. When we look at the whole person and the overall causes of pain, it is often more complex than simply “taking a pill.”
For example, what if someone is experiencing chronic pain due to poor posture, lack of exercise, or being significantly overweight? Sometimes, increasing activity levels, changing one’s diet, losing a few pounds, and building up body strength and flexibility (with weightlifting, resistance training, or exercises like yoga) can make a big difference in one’s overall pain levels.
Red Light Therapy: A Game Changer in Everyday Health and Wellness
Another treatment for chronic pain that is garnering increasing attention from fitness enthusiasts and wellness experts is one that is near and dear to my heart: red light therapy. This is a natural, non-invasive treatment for pain and several other health and wellness issues. Red light therapy is a type of “photomedicine” that works by exposing the body to specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) light. When the light waves penetrate the surface of the skin, they help speed healing and increase blood flow by “energizing” the body’s muscles through activating the mitochondria—the “powerhouses”—of the muscle cells.
Red light therapy was first documented in 1903, and was researched by NASA scientists in the 1990s. Numerous clinical trials have shown that red light therapy can significantly improve muscle recovery, muscle endurance, joint function, and other key indicators for athletic performance and everyday wellness. Red light therapy can help relieve neuropathy, reduce inflammation, and alleviate muscle and joint pain. And red light therapy carries no risk of addiction and overdose, unlike the tragic side effects of prescription opioids.
America is suffering from a chronic pain crisis. Rather than just filling prescription drug cabinets, it’s time for more creative and open-minded solutions that focus on the health and wellness of the whole person. People with chronic pain need real help, not just more pills. Red light therapy, yoga, better nutrition, exercise, dietetics, and fitness coaching can all be part of a more holistic approach to chronic pain.
As a lifelong fitness enthusiast, I’m passionate about human achievement and inspired by human potential. I believe that people of all fitness levels and from all backgrounds can achieve great gains in their health and wellness. People who suffer from chronic pain do not deserve to be abandoned to addiction and early death. They need to know that the community cares about them, and that we want them to thrive and be their best selves. Our fellow humans’ lives are worth saving. People’s everyday health and quality of life are worth supporting.
Red light therapy can be part of a broader, long-overdue conversation in the public health and medical communities about how non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical treatments can create more effective chronic pain management. Let’s do it!
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