Can light therapy help with Plantar fasciitis?Updated 5 months ago
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is a thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot.
Near-infrared light therapy provides pain relief and supports healing in plantar fasciitis at a cellular level in a few key ways. Firstly, the light energy is absorbed by cells within the plantar fascia tissue itself. This stimulates increased production of ATP, the primary energy source used by cells.
With higher ATP levels, plantar fascia cells have more energy available to carry out the metabolically demanding process of repairing microtears and regenerating damaged tissue.
near-infrared light also improves local circulation in the plantar fascia area. It stimulates the formation of new tiny blood vessels (angiogenesis) as well as vasodilation of existing blood vessels.
The improved circulation delivers more oxygenated blood and nutrients like amino acids and glucose to aid tissue regeneration. It also helps flush out inflammatory factors that build up and irritate nerve endings, causing pain.
On a molecular level, near-infrared light counters inflammation by reducing levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. It also suppresses activation of the NF-kB protein complex that coordinates inflammatory responses.
his combination of effects at the cellular and molecular level results in decreased inflammation-related irritation of nerve cells and pain fibers.