After you’ve given birth to your child, much of the attention will be on your newborn, and for good reason! However, it’s imperative that you don’t ignore your own health and recovery. Childbirth is a significant trauma on your body, and it’s going to take concentrated effort if you want to help your body heal from this trauma.
Physical therapy and pelvic floor exercises are great places to start, but more and more new mothers have been pursuing red light therapy alongside these active treatment techniques for even better results. In today’s blog, we explore some of the ways that red light therapy can enhance your postpartum recovery.
Red Light Therapy For Postpartum Recovery
Indulging in red light therapy won’t help your body heal overnight, but it can help improve a number of different issues you may face after childbirth. Here’s a look at some of the ways that red light therapy can be so beneficial after childbirth.
- Wound Healing – Red light therapy has been shown to help stimulate collagen production, which is essential in the wound healing process. A 2009 study by Baroley et. al. found that red light therapy could lead to faster wound healing after a c-section or episiotomy.
- Hormone Regulation – Hormone production tends to normalize a bit after delivery, but you’ll still be dealing with varying levels of hormones compared to pre-pregnancy life. Red light therapy can regulate hormone production, which can improve things like your mood and your mental health. Better hormonal management may also help to reduce your risk of postpartum depression.
- Pain Management – Red light therapy can improve cell function, making it easier for them to perform numerous processes, including tissue repair which will be needed after the physically demanding childbirth process. As tissue repair occurs as expected, it can help to manage postpartum pain and discomfort.
- Milk Production – A 2019 study by Pereira et. al. found that red light therapy was shown to help increase prolactin, which is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that aids in lactation and milk production.
- More Energy – Caring for a newborn is a tiring process, but you can help fight back against fatigue by pursuing red light therapy. Red light therapy helps cells become more energized, which in turn helps you feel more energized throughout the day. Red light therapy can help to normalize our sleep-wake cycle so that you can get restorative sleep when your child allows it.
- Stress Reduction – Finally, red light therapy has been shown to promote relaxation and stress reduction in patients through the optimization of cell health. Childbirth and the early stages of parenthood will be stressful, but red light therapy can help your body and mind better manage this stress.
Red light therapy will not be a standalone treatment, but it pairs well with postpartum exercise and physical therapy to help new mothers bounce back stronger and faster after childbirth. To learn more about how we can help you manage postpartum life, reach out to the team at HyperCharge Clinic today.