Joint Pain and Infrared Saunas
Most people, at some time in their life will suffer from joint pain. To make things worse, joint pain relief is hard to come by. Joint pain treatment comes in many different forms; however, in the end most people are left with only some joint pain relief. While searching for non-invasive ways to deal with joint stiffness and pain, people are finding natural pain relief to be the best way to deal with joint pain. One of the more popular methods of natural pain relief is regular use of an infrared portable sauna. Infrared sauna therapy gets heat deep down into the joints, assuring that the pain relief is where it needs to be. The possibilities for using an infrared sauna for joint pain treatment increased when research to explore its effects on joint stiffness was done. The research showed a twenty percent decline in stiffness for people with rheumatoid finger joints treated at 112F, as compared to patients who’s joints were treated at a lower temperature. When heated to 112F and then stretched, tissues become elongated by about 0.5-0.9% which persists even after the stretching has stopped. When stretching at normal temperatures this does not occur. Researchers have concluded that by doing 20 stretch sessions, a person can increase the length of their tissues by 10-18% when they are heated and stretched. -Justus F Lehmann M.D., Williams and Wilkins, Therapeutic Heat and Cold, 4th edition.
When working with ligaments, joint capsules, tendons, fasciae, and synovium that have become scarred, thickened or contracted this stretching method is very useful. By stretching at 112F instead of room temperature, the damage that normally occurs when stretching is much less. Since stretching after sauna use is safer, many athletes make use of the advantages that can be had from a quality, deep stretch. Infrared sauna therapy has clearly shown itself to be a joint pain treatment that is well worth investing in. Joint pain is a serious problem for millions of people everyday. The low impact and non-intrucive pain releif offered by an infrared sauna is changing lives daily.
