Disclaimer: It is important to consult with your health care provider before using any modalities when pregnant. The information provided should not be viewed as a substitute for medical advice. When red light therapy is recommended as an intervention it is often advised not to use it on the abdomen, pelvis or low back so that the light will not have a direct effect on the fetus. Using on lower risk areas such as the knees, face, arms should still be approved by the practitioner who is managing the pregnancy. Although red light therapy is considered low risk, there haven’t been studies that evaluate the effect on the fetus.
Why would an expectant mom consider red light therapy?
Red light therapy is non-invasive and drug free which, for many, meets the most important criteria for interventions during pregnancy. It may help several issues during the same session. It can help knee pain at the same time it decreases leg stiffness and inflammation. It can help hair growth at the same time it helps reduce skin redness. Although red light therapy has been used for decades, its use during pregnancy hasn’t been extensively studied.
What is red light therapy used for?
Red light therapy has experienced an explosion in popularity over the last decade.
Uses of red light therapy include:
- Skin health and rejuvenation
- Acne
- Scar treatment
- Reduce skin redness
- Hair growth
- Wound care
- Pain
- Speed muscle recovery
- Improve joint health and decrease stiffness
- Leg cramps
- Decrease neck tension
- Decrease inflammation
- Promote relaxation
- Improve sleep quality
- Decrease swelling
- Decrease varicose vein symptoms (It will not shrink or eliminate varicose veins)
Pregnancy often causes or exacerbates skin & hair issues, pain, insomnia, varicose veins, joint issues and inflammation. The question arises is red light therapy an appropriate treatment and is it safer than using alternative treatments, or no treatment, for these issues?
It's important to keep your healthcare provider informed about medical issues even if they seem trivial. Swollen ankles may be expected and considered annoying; but, they also may indicate a rise in blood pressure. Insomnia affects up to 78% of pregnancies; but, insomnia may also indicate blood sugar fluctuations. It’s important to discuss symptoms with your medical professional rather than only treating them yourself.
What is Red Light Therapy?
As described by GenerationKlean“ Red Light therapy (RLT) is a form of photobiomodulation (PBM). Photobiomodulation is the process of using light (photo) to affect the healing (modulation) of living cells (bio). PBM is accomplished through using low-level laser therapy (LLLT). Although the word “laser” is in the name, LLLT is applied using non-thermal (non-heat), non-coherent (non-laser) light-emitting diodes (LED’s) ie. “red light”.” Red light can be used to stimulate growth in many types of different cells.
Red light and near-infrared light uses low wavelengths, between 600-1100 nanometers to stimulate cellular activity. The increased activity of cells is what creates the beneficial results.
With a process called selective photothermolysis, light can be tailored to use specific wavelengths to target tissue and stimulate an effect within tissue.
What’s the difference between ultraviolet light and red light therapy?
Although red light therapy and UV radiation are often confused, there are fundamental differences. UV radiation is a form of ionizing radiation which is high-energy and can break the cell's molecular bonds or cause mutations. This is achieved when electrons are knocked away from atoms. It is this process that causes skin sun damage and paint to fade on buildings. This process can also damage DNA. Red light and near infrared are non-ionizing and are relatively low energy in the safe wavelength spectrum.
How does pregnancy change the risks of red light therapy?
- Skin may become more sensitive during pregnancy due to hormonal changes, including more sensitivity to light. A red-light session that produced no obvious negative effects before pregnancy can cause a negative hyper-response when pregnant.
- Large red light applications, which can include red light beds or saunas, can cause an increase in core body temperature which may pose a risk to the developing fetus. These risks may be even higher during the first trimester.
- Health conditions such as high blood pressure, seizures, cancer, thyroid conditions and photosensitive conditions such as lupus may have an exaggerated negative response to red light therapy in a pregnant woman.
- Many medications increase light sensitivity. The possible increased sensitivity to light due to pregnancy and medications that can cause photo-sensitivity can combine to produce a significant negative reaction.
Red Light Therapy purposely stimulates a mild inflammatory response in cells. This response may be exaggerated if pregnant, especially if there are other underlying conditions that enhance inflammation or contribute to greater skin sensitivity. While red light therapy can increase inflammation the opposite is also true. By stimulating energy production in cells, red light therapy can improve circulation, reduce inflammation and decrease pain. Health care providers may recommend red light therapy for painful areas that are at a distance from the low back or abdomen to utilize these properties.
How deep does red light therapy penetrate?
The article by Raymond Lanzafamen fittingly titled Light Dosing and Tissue Penetration: It Is Complicated explains it isn’t a simple question to answer.
As he highlights, the depth of penetration is affected by:
Wavelength
Size of the exposure area
Relative bone/muscle composition
Melanin concentrations
Tissue water
Exposure time
And . . some cells do not seem to respond to photobiomodulation as expected
As noted in the article: “Tissue penetration depths were greater for females than males” which provides further justification for caution using this modality while pregnant.
Although there is not strict consensus, up to 5 cm (approx 2 inches) penetration was consistently listed in multiple studies. It is important to remember that a modality can have effects deeper than the light actually penetrates because living tissue is its own microcosm. Multiple medications, like testosterone cream, that are applied on the skin cause medicinal effects on multiple systems that are at a significant distance from the place of application. Although the light may not directly penetrate to the fetus it is important to remember that the entire area is also its own microcosm. The thermal properties that are occurring in the abdomen may translate to the uterus.
Red Light Therapy should be avoided in the following areas during pregnancy as these are the closest areas to the developing fetus:
Abdomen
Lower back
Pelvic regions
General red light therapy safety tips when pregnant include:
- Consult your obstetrician before using
- Sessions should be shorter than typical sessions
- Use a low‑power device
- Do not use it if you're ill or are running a fever due to the possibility of increasing core body temperature.
- Overheating while pregnant must be avoided.Because of increased skin sensitivity, the potential for red light therapy to cause irritation, redness and burns (if using high-powered devices) is enhanced.
- It is important to not point red light therapy directly at the eyes and to wear eye protection when indicated.
These tips are especially important during the first trimester, when fetal development is the most sensitive.
It is important to remember that although red light therapy has not been extensively studied, it is often less risky than some medications and other treatments that are available. Pregnancy does not preclude women from having acute pain, swelling, insomnia, muscle aches, varicose veins etc. Many of these conditions are more likely to increase because of pregnancy. Leaving these conditions untreated also carries risks.
Most healthcare providers would not take the position that using red light therapy to combat insomnia is more dangerous to the fetus than sleeping pills.