Let’s take a walk down memory lane and think back to elementary school or middle school science when we were learning how plants use sunlight to help fuel their development. This occurs through a process known as photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process through which plants use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Plants end up converting light energy into chemical energy, which can eventually be metabolized through cellular respiration to fuel the plant’s growth and development. It’s a truly amazing process that allows plants to fuel themselves as a result of exposure to light.
Wouldn’t it be great if the human body worked in a similar manner? Instead of getting your nutrients from food sources, you could just head outside, soak up the sun and let your body use this light to fuel itself. While this isn’t something our bodies can do, we are actually much similar to plants than we may realize.
The Benefits Of Photobiomodulation
Humans can use light waves to their advantage through a process called photobiomodulation. We’ve touched on the process on the blog in the past, and it’s one of the most common rejuvenation techniques we offer at Hypercharge Clinic.
Photobiomodulation involves placing a light source (like red light therapy or Class IV laser therapy) near the skin, which allows light energy to penetrate the tissue and reach areas inside our body. This light energy ends up penetrating the mitochondria of our cells. Mitochondria are key components of our cells, as they help to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which powers cellular functions.
Due to issues like stress, injury and inflammation, nitric oxide molecules can bind to the cytochrome complex of your ATP, making the cell perform less optimally. When light enters the equation, this nitric oxide molecule comes off the ATP complex and binds to an oxygen molecule, meaning ATP can perform more efficiently. This allows the cell to have improved function and performance. It can repair itself more easily, combat inflammation, improve blood flow and help the body recover faster. Because of this, light therapy is oftentimes pursued by athletes looking to make a strong recovery after injury and by patients who are working to get back to full health following a surgical procedure. Light ends up improving cellular function, which helps with a number of key processes within the body.
So while you’ll still need to consume food in order to get the nutrients your body needs to thrive, we can benefit from light exposure just like the plants and trees we see all around us. Photobiomodulation is a core principle here at HyperCharge Clinic, and we’ll be happy to show you how we can harness the power of light to speed up tissue recovery and put an end to chronic aches and pains. For more information about photobiomodulation or other techniques we offer at HyperCharge Clinic, give our team a call today at (763) 717-8745.