SoothIR Benefits Series: Exercise Recovery & Pre-Treating
When you remove the soothIR™ from your leg after proper application, you will see the area flushed pink. This is not a burn, but rather a sign of dilated blood vessels, allowing more blood to the area. This dilation of vessels can flush away lactate, proving to be important in exercise recovery, leading to the idea and creation of soothIR™ muscle.
My research of the literature on this has shown that using light for recovery was not only anticipated and tested but that exploring how it works has led to a variety of ways an athlete can utilize light. The specific color light emitted by the soothIR™ is absorbed into the cell’s energy producer, the mitochondria. Muscles are chock full of mitochondria, which seem to be particularly amenable to infrared therapy.
I’ve found that there are 3 ways an athlete can use soothIR™ muscle effectively. Treatment 3-6 hours before an athletic activity can pre-charge the muscle with a flood of ATP and glycogen while protecting the muscle from damage. (2) Treatment after the activity can help heal the muscle and repair it, while the dilation of the blood vessels can help flush away lactate. (3) Treatment of a muscle during injury recovery with soothIR™ can help get the athlete back to activity. (4)
PRECHARGE: Before Activity
• 3-6 hours before, effects still measurable at 24 hours. (2)
• 1 minute per area, very short application needed.
• Opens microcirculation
• Dramatically increases ATP production, especially in a few hours (2)
• Increases glycogen (2)
• Reduces Lactate production (fatigue) (3)
• Reduced Creatine production (muscle damage) (3)
• Increase repetitions or time to exhaustion (2)
• Better VO2 dynamics (6)
Preventing muscle damage may not be desirable in body-building applications where muscle damage is part of the process; here post-activity treatment would be preferred. However, “if the purpose is to improve muscle performance before only one bout of acute exercise, such as in single athletic competitions, the LEDT should be used before the exercise.” (1)
RECHARGE: After Activity
• After cool down
• Treat as desired up to 30 minutes/area
• Repair muscles (6)
• Increases muscle size and volume (5)
• Increase muscle performance (6)
• Opens microcirculation to flush out lactate
• Decreases inflammation
• Lowers Creatine (6)
• Decreases DOM (delayed onset muscle) pain (6)
• Shown to be better than cryotherapy for recovery (3)
“If the purpose is to develop the best enduring improvement muscle performance then one should adopt an appropriate training program for the specific sport in question combined with LEDT over the entire target muscle groups after each training session“(1)
“There was an increase in the volume in thigh muscles measured by MRI when LEDT was combined with the training program (+20%, from 2937 to 3523 cm3), whereas placebo therapy gave a smaller increase in muscle volume (+5%, from 3152 to 3316 cm3) “(5)
“Five minutes of LEDT with the parameters employed in this study was more effective than placebo LEDT to reduce levels of some biochemical markers that are related to muscle recovery after a Wingate cycle test. We found no significant effect of CWIT (cold water immersion therapy) with the used parameters over placebo LEDT.” (3)
REPAIR: After Injury
• Should you injure your joint or muscle, soothIR™ can help you return to activity sooner (4)
• 30 minutes at “soothest” setting (4)
• Every other day until healed
• Lowers inflammation
• Reduces pain
• Speeds healing (4)
• Feels great being treated
I am not a professional athlete, but I have cycled 9000 miles this year. I tried soothIR™ muscle during its development both before and after cycling. With treatment before, I felt the increase in repetitions to exhaustion. With treatment after, I have reduced my knee area muscle soreness significantly.
With the science as an exciting backdrop, and with soothIR™ delivering the optimal infrared color for LLLT in an ergonomic way to your muscle with a USB and a battery, don’t your muscles deserve soothIR™ muscle?
Take a moment to watch this video testimonial from Chris C., who was one of our early adopters. As a former Division 1 Collegiate Athlete and Graduate Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach, he has recognized the impact that this device can have for athletes, gym-goers, and bodybuilders alike, implementing it into his own daily routines:
soothIR Video Testimonial: Chris C.
Talk soon,
-Ed
Disclaimer: The use of the soothIR™ for the above-stated purposes has not been reviewed or cleared by the FDA. I am basing the findings above on my review of the published literature as well as my own experiences with using the soothIR™.
1) ”Light-emitting diode therapy in exercise-trained mice increases muscle performance, cytochrome c oxidase activity, ATP and cell proliferation” Cleber Ferraresi, Nivaldo Antonio Parizotto, Marcelo Victor Pires de Sousa, Beatriz Kaippert, Ying-Ying Huang, Tomoharu Koiso4, Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato, and Michael R. Hamblin.
2) ”Time response of increases in ATP and muscle resistance to fatigue after low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) in mice” Cleber Ferraresi & Marcelo Victor Pires de Sousa & Ying-Ying Huang & Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato & Nivaldo Antonio Parizotto & Michael R. Hamblin Lasers Med Sci 10.1007/s10103-015-1723-8
3) Comparison between cold water immersion therapy (CWIT) and light emitting diode therapy (LEDT) in short-term skeletal muscle recovery after high-intensity exercise in athletes—preliminary results Ernesto Cesar Leal Junior & Vanessa de Godoi & José Luis Mancalossi, Rafael Paolo Rossi, Thiago De Marchi, Márcio Parente Douglas Grosselli Rafael Abeche Generosi et al Lasers Med Sci (2011) 26:493–501
4) 830 nm light-emitting diode (led) phototherapy significantly reduced return-to-play in injured university athletes: a pilot study. John Foley , David B Vasily , Jeanna Bradle , Catharine Rudio and R Glen Calderhead
5) Effects of Light-Emitting Diode Therapy on Muscle Hypertrophy, Gene Expression, Performance, Damage, and Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness: Case-control Study with a Pair of Identical Twins Ferraresi, Bertucci, Schiavinato, et al. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. October 2016
6) Muscular pre-conditioning using light-emitting diode therapy (LEDT) for high-intensity exercise: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial with a single elite runner Cleber Ferraresi, PhD, Thomas Beltrame, MSc, Fernando Fabrizzi, MSc, Eduardo Sanches Pereira do Nascimento, PhD, Marlus Karsten, PhD, et al