According to several studys ,saunas used
in moderation can be a great health aid
MUSCULOSKELETAL CASES
Success reported with infrared treatments by Japanese researchers:
TMJ Arthritis · Muscle Spasms - reduced or eliminated
Traumatic Arthritis
Low Back Pain - relieved
Acel-decel Injury Sequelae
Adhesions - lengthened or more easily broken; they are common in competitive athletes, trauma and repetitive stress syndromes
Disc-protrusion Related Neuralgia
Brain Contusion - accelerated healing
Tight Shoulders - relaxed
Compression Fracture - Example: pain stopped for 3 days with only a single treatment
Spinal Cord Shock - post traumatic shock reversed
Muscle Tension - relaxed
Post-exercise Muscle Pain - vital to competitive athletes
Arthritis: Gouty, Rheumatoid, DJD - each substantially relieved or improved,
Shoulder Pain - relieved or eliminated
Bursitis - eliminated
"Medical practitioners make use of Infrared Radiant Heat to treat sprains, strains, bursitis, peripheral vascular diseases, arthritis and muscle pain..." - McGraw/Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Dr. Masao Nakamura of the O & P Medical Clinic in Japan has reported great success with the use of infrared treatment for:
PAIN RELIEF-RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
A case study was reported in Sweden of a 70 year old man with Rheumatoid Arthritis secondary to acute rheumatic fever. He had reached his toxic limit on Gold injections and his Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate was still at 125. Within 5 months of undergoing an infrared treatment, his ESR was down to only 11. In the case of rheumatic arthritis of a 14-year old Swedish girl who couldn't walk comfortably downstairs due to knee pain since she had been eight years old, her rheumatologist told her mother that her child would be in a wheelchair within 2 years if she refused gold corticosteroid therapy. However, after 3 infrared sauna treatments, she began to become more agile and subsequently took up folk dancing, without the aid of the conventional approach in her recovery. A clinical trial in Japan reported the successful solution in seven out of seven cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis treated with whole-body infrared therapy. These case studies and clinical trials indicate that further study is warranted on the usage of whole-body infrared therapy in the care of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
The following is a summary from Therapeutic Heat and Cold, 4th edition, ED. Just us F. Lehmann MD, William's and Wilkins, Chapter 9 or concluded from the data there in.
Generally it is accepted that heat produces the following desirable therapeutic effects:
It increases the extensibility of collagen tissues.
Tissues heated to 45°C and then stretched exhibit a non-elastic residual elongation of about 0.5 ~0.9% that persists after the stretch is removed. It does not occur in these same tissues when stretched at normal tissue temperatures. Thus 20 stretching sessions can produce around 10 ~ 18% increase in length in tissues heated and stretched.
This effect would be especially valuable in working with ligaments, joint capsules, tendons, fasciae, and synovium that have become scarred, thickened or contracted.
Such stretching at 45°C caused much less weakening in stretched tissues for a given elongation than a similar elongation produced at normal tissue temperatures.
The cited experiments clearly show that low-impact stretching can produce a significant residual elongation when heat is applied together with stretching or range-of-motion exercises, which is also safer than stretching tissues at normal tissue temperatures.
This safer stretching effect is crucial in properly training competitive athletes so as to minimize their "down" time from injuries.
2. It decreases joint stiffness directly.
There was a 20% decrease in stiffness at 45°C as compared with 33°C in rheumatoid finger joints, which correlated perfectly to both subjective and objective observation of stiffness.
Any stiffened joint and thickened connective tissues should respond in a similar fashion.
3. It relieves muscle spasms.
Muscle spasms have long been observed to be reduced through the use of heat, be they secondary to underlying skeletal, joint, or neuro-pathological conditions.
This result is possibly produced by the combined effect of heat on both primary and secondary afferent from spindle cells and from its effects on Golgi tendon organs. The effects produced by each of these mechanisms demonstrated their peak effect within the therapeutic temperature range obtainable with radiant heat.
4. It produces pain relief.
Pain may be relieved via the reduction of attendant or secondary muscle spasms. Pain is also at times related to ischemia due to tension or spasm, which can be improved by the hyperemia that heat-induced vasodilatation produces. This then breaks the feedback loop, in which the ischemia leads to further spasm and then more pain.
Heat has been shown to reduce pain sensation by direct action on both free-nerve endings in tissues and on peripheral nerves. In one dental study, repeated heat applications eventually led to abolishment of the whole nerve response responsible for pain arising from dental pulp.
Heat may lead to both increased endorphin production and a shutting down of the so-called "spinal gate" of Melzack and Wall, each of which can reduce pain.
increases blood flow.
Heating of one area of the body produces reflex-modulated vasodilatation in distant-body areas, even in the absence of a change in core body temperature; i.e. heat one extremity and the contralateral extremity also dilates; heat a forearm and both lower extremities dilate; heat the front of the trunk and the hand dilates.
Heating of muscles produces an increased blood flow level similar to that seen during an exercise.
Temperature elevation produces an increase in blood flow and dilation directly in capillaries, arterioles, and venuies, probably through direct action on their smooth muscles. The release of bradykinin, released as a consequence of sweat-gland activity, also produces increased blood flow and vasodilatation.
Whole-body hyperthermia, with a consequent core temperature elevation, further induces vasodilatation via an hypothalamic-induced decrease in sympathetic tone on the arteriovenous anastomoses. Vasodilatation is also produced by axonal reflexes and by reflexes that change vasomotor balance.
6. It assists in resolution of inflammatory infiltrates, edema and exudates.
The increased peripheral circulation provides the transportation needed to help evacuate the edema, which can help stop inflammation, decrease pain and help speed healing.
7. More recently, it has been used in cancer therapy.
This is a new and experimental procedure.
It shows a great promise in some cases when used properly.
American researchers favor careful monitoring of the tumor temperature; whereas, the successes reported in Japan make no mention of such precaution.
Infrared healing is now becoming the leading edge in the care of soft tissue injuries to promote both relief in chronic or intractable "permanent" cases, and accelerated healing in newer injuries.
Localized infrared therapy using lamps tuned to the 2 ~ 25 micron waveband is used for the treatment and relief of pain by over 40 reputable Chinese Medical Institutes.
Researchers reported over 90% success in a summary of Chinese studies that assessed the effect of infrared therapy on:
Soft tissue injury
Lumbar strain
Periarthritis of the shoulder
Sciatica
Pain during Menstruation
Neurodermatitis
Eczema with infection
Post-surgical infections
Diarrhea
Cholecystitis
Neurasthenia
Pelvic infection
Pediatric Pneumonia
Tineas
Frostbite with inflammation
Facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy)
Japanese researchers, as reported in the book Infrared Therapy by Dr. Yamajaki, have produced the following provocative results.
Burns: relieves pain and decreases healing time, with less scarring
High Blood Pressure: safe in 40 ~ 50°C range and regular use helps to lower it
Low Blood Pressure: sauna trains body to raise it
Brain Damage: accelerated repair in brain contusions
Short-term memory improved
Cancer of the tongue reversed
Toxic Electromagnetic Fields: effects neutralized
Cerebral Hemorrhages: recovery is both sped up and significantly enhanced
Auto Accident: related soft tissue injury - daily sessions were used until best healing was attained; then Infrared systems were used to deal with permanent residuals. The pain control effect on the chronic residuals from such injuries lasted three days before another treatment was necessary.
Arthritis, acute and chronic: was greatly relieved Gouty Arthritis: relieved
Rheumatoid Arthritis: relieved
Menopause Symptoms: relieved chills, nervousness, depression, dizziness, head & stomach aches
Weight Loss: first, through sweating and the energy use needed to produce the sweat and second, through direct excretion of fat
BLOOD CIRCULATION
All of the following ailments may be associated to some degree with poor circulation and, thus, may respond well to the increased peripheral dilation associated with Infrared application:
Arthritis
Sciatica
Backaches
Hemorrhoids
Nervous Tension
Diabetes
Children's Over-tired Muscles
Varicose Veins
Neuritis
Bursitis
Rheumatism
Strained Muscles
Fatigue Stretch Marks Menstrual Cramps
Upset Stomachs
Leg and Decubitus Ulcers: failed to heal using conventional approaches
Post-Operative Edema: treatment with infrared has been so successful that hospital stays were reported to have been reduced by 25%
Peripheral Occlusive Disease: "The goal is to maintain an optimal blood flow rate to the affected part... In general the temperature should be maintained at the highest level which does not increase the circulatory discrepancy as shown by cyanosis and pain" - Therapeutic Heat and Cold pp. 456 ~ 457
CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, ARTERIOSCLEROSIS AND HYPERTENTION
Finnish researchers, talking about the regular use of conventional saunas state that there are abundant evidences to suggest that blood vessels of regular sauna-goers remain elastic and pliable longer due to the regular dilation and contraction of blood vessels induced by sauna use. German medical researchers reported in "Dermatol Monatsschr" in 1989 that a single whole-body session of infrared-induced hyperthermia lasting over one hour had only beneficial effects on subjects with stage I-II essential hypertension. Each subject experienced a rise in core body temperature to a maximum level of 38.5°C (101.3°F). All of the subjects in one experiment had significant decrease in arterial, venous and mean blood pressure that lasted for at least 24 hours and was linked, according to the researchers, to a persistent peripheral dilation effect. An improvement in plasma viscosity was also noted. Another group of similar hypertension patients was also studied under the same conditions of infrared-induced hyperthermia, with an eye toward more carefully evaluating the circulatory system effects induced by this type of whole-body heating. During each infrared session, there was a significant decrease of blood pressure, cardiac ejection resistance, and total peripheral resistance in every subject. There was also a significant increase during each session of the subjects' heart rates, stroke volumes, cardiac outputs and ejection fractions. The researchers cite these last three effects as evidences that the stimulation of the heart during infrared-induced hyperthermia is well compensated, while the prior list of effects clearly show the microcirculatory changes that lead to the desired result of a lowering of blood pressure.
AGING
Problems often accompanying Aging, that have been reported to have been alleviated or reduced by Infrared Therapy in Japan:
Menopause
Cold hands and feet: A physical therapist found 20~50% improvement was maintained
High Blood Pressure: Example - Case of a diabetic with a systolic decrease from 180 to 125 and a concurrent 10 lbs. Weight loss after infrared use
Rheumatoid Arthritis: 7 out of 7 cases successfully resolved in one clinical trial
Radiation Sickness: relieves signs and symptoms
Cancer Pain: relieved pain in later stages of cancer extremely well
Sequelae of Strokes: Example - Hemiparesis relieved over time
Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy: reduced
Duodenal Ulcers: eliminated
Pain: which prevented sleep or limited useable sleeping positions were relieved
Compression Fracture Pain: Example - pain gone for 3 days after each treatment in steoporotic compression fractures
Hemorrhoids: reduced § Cystitis: gone
Cirrhoses of Liver: reversed
Gastritis: relieved
Hepatitis: gone
Asthma & Bronchitis: cleared up (like moving to Arizona's dry air)
Chron's Disease: gone
Post Surgical Adhesions: reduced
Leg ulcers: healed when previously static and resistant to other care
Keloids: significantly softened and, in some cases, completely gone
EAR, NOSE AND THROAT
Conditions relieved with Infrared treatments in Japan:
Chronic middle-ear inflammation or infection: in one clinical study of chronic serousotitis media no pathogenic bacteria were isolated 70% of the subjects studied
Sore throats
Taint's: chronic severe case cleared with 10 Infrared treatments
Nose bleeding
SKIN
Conditions benefited by Infrared treatments in Japan and China:
Nettle rash
Clogged pores are unplugged of cosmetics creating a skin texture and tone of unexcelled quality. Michael Aaland's book Sweat (Capra Press, 1978) quotes a Finnish doctor to the effect that: "The best dressed foreigner can come into a doctor's office, and when his skin is examined, it is found to be rough as bark. On the other hand, as a result of the sauna, the skin of any Finnish worker is supple and healthy"
Poor skin tone is restored to a more youthful level
Scars and pain from burns or wounds are decreased in severity and extent. Infrared therapy is used routinely in burn units throughout Asia
Lacerations heal quicker and with less pain and scarring
Acne: Three or four infrared treatments may open pores that have not been functioning in years, forcing out clogging cosmetics and loosening dead outer skin. The sauna is thus a boon to teenage skin, clearing acne and blackheads
Body odor: by improving the function of the skin, the infrared treatments may eliminate the cause of offensive body odor. It definitely reduces body adder induced by occupational exposure to odorous chemicals
Eczema and Psoriasis: reported to have responded extremely well to infrared treatments
Sunburn: according to the 9th edition of Clayton's Electrotherapy, "infrared is the only antidote to excessive ultraviolet radiation."
Keloids forms at a reduced rate in those prone to their formation with infrared treatments and may be softened by use of infrared systems if they have formed.
CONTRA-INDICATIONS
As you can see, the segment of the infrared spectrum emitted by the Infrared Thermal System is reputed to offer an astounding range of possible therapeutic benefits and effects in research conducted around the world. The data presented is offered for reference purposes only and to stimulate further observation. Infrared Thermal Systems creating a cure for or treating any disease is neither implied nor should be inferred.
If you have a disease, be certain to consult with a primary-care physician concerning it.
If you are using any prescription drugs, check with your physician or pharmacist for any possible change in the drug's effect due to any interaction with infrared energy.
It is considered inadvisable to raise the core temperature in someone with adrenal suppression and systemic lupus erythematosus or multiple sclerosis, by some authorities.
If you have a recent (acute) joint injury, it should not be heated for the first 48 hours after an injury or until the hot and swollen symptoms subside. If you have a joint or joints that are chronically hot and swollen, these joints may respond poorly to vigorous heating of any kind. Vigorous heating is strictly contraindicated in cases of enclosed infections be they dental, in joints or in any other tissues.
If you are pregnant or suspect you may be, discontinue your sauna use. Finnish women use their saunas, which don't throw heat as deeply into the body, for only 6~12 minutes and reportedly leave at that time, due to perceived discomfort. Their usage at this low level of intensity is not linked to birth defects. Infrared Thermal System usage may be 2~3 times more intense, and comparatively shorter 2~6 minute sessions hardly seem worth any minimal risk they may present.
Metal pins, rods, artificial joints or any other surgical implants generally reflect infrared rays and thus are not heated by this system, nevertheless you should consult your surgeon prior to using Infrared Thermal System. Certainly, the usage of Infrared Thermal System must be discontinued if you experience pain near any such implants. Silicone does absorb infrared energy. Implanted silicone or silicone prostheses for nose or ear replacement may be warmed by the infrared rays. Since silicone melts at over 200°C (392°F), it should not be adversely affected by the usage of Infrared Thermal System. It is still advised that you check with your surgeon and possibly a representative from the product manufacture to be certain.
Heating of the low back area of women during the menstrual period may temporarily increase their menstrual flow. Once a woman is aware that this may occur, she can choose to allow herself to possible experience this short term effect without worry or to simply avoid Infrared Thermal System usage at that time of her cycle.
Hemophiliacs and anyone predisposed to hemorrhage should avoid Infrared Thermal System usage or any type of heating that would induce vasodilatation, which can potentate the tendency to bleed.
Obviously, should any condition worsen with use of an Infrared treatment, the use of the system should be discontinued.
People do not experience pain using Infrared Thermal Systems unless such is contraindicated. If you do, the use of radiant heat is clearly inappropriate for you at that time.
DO NOT attempt to self-treat any disease with this Infrared Thermal System without direct supervision of a physician.
