What is photobiomodulation?
Simply put...light therapy...and is has been around for a LONG time....
Light therapy has been used for years....
Light therapy was first developed for the treatment jaundice in infants. Yep, itty bitty babies benefit from light therapy every day (and have since the 1950's!). It is the first line treatment in the treatment of jaundice. It has been used in dermatology for the treatment of psoriais since 1974 and for the treatment of subcutaneous T-cell Lymphoma (yep, the cancer) since 1987. Modern light therapy (phototherapy) had a marked uptake in use in medicine in Scandinavia, America, and Australia from 1903, following the pioneering work of Niels Finsen in the late 19th century, which culminated in Dr Finsen receiving the Nobel Prize for Medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis scarring with ultraviolet (UV) light, and treatment of smallpox scarring with red light. Since the 1990s, there has been global use of light, in the form of photobiomodulation for the management of lymphedema, including in supportive cancer care. Photobiomodulation in the form of low-level laser has been used by physiotherapists and pain doctors since the 1990s in the management of chronic pain.
Light by any other name...
It still remains the same. Light therapy has been called many things: light therapy, photobiomodulation, physiotherapy, low-level laser, and heliotherapy.
Today's Photobiomodulation
The use of light has expanded into new and exciting practices including supportive cancer care, and treatment of depression, oral mucositis, retinopathy of prematurity, and cardiac surgery complications. Light is also being used in the treatment of neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, depression (Dude, even Costco sells these lights!), low vitamin D, migraine, and multiple sclerosis. The innovative uses of light in physiotherapy treatment would not be possible without the previous experience of successful application of light treatment.
So.... What is brain photobiomodulation?
Did you know that your brain’s functions can be improved by delivering light energy (photons) of specific wavelengths onto your brain cells? This process is called photobiomodulation (PBM). Research shows that our brain cells respond to a band of light called near infrared (NIR) light.
Of all the organs in the body, the brain is the most complex. With its numerous connections, it controls virtually all of the functions in our bodies. Within every brain cell are numerous mitochondria that are best understood as energy producing facilities. Through numerous amazing biochemical reactions, the mitochondria create fuel and other activities for the brain cells, including neurons.
When NIR light is delivered to neuronal mitochondria, it is absorbed by a light-sensitive enzyme called the cytochrome c oxidase. This enzyme uses energy from the NIR to start a series of biochemical reactions that are both beneficial and energizing to the neurons and other brain cells. Collectively, they heal damaged brain cells, improve blood circulation within the brain, reduce inflammation and toxicity, and regenerate damaged brain cells. Continual help from delivered NIR light to a brain creates an improved, efficient organ due to better signaling and repairing of connectivity between the neurons.