Light Therapy for Helping Horses

Why use light therapy? It is a fast-acting and effective alternative therapy option that you can use to help your horse.

Light therapy is an easy-to-use therapy that has a wide range of applications. The two primary uses are for healing wounds and reducing scar tissue. Skin irritations, such as rain rot, girth itch, and other fungus-related skin problems, also benefit from light therapy. Other times light therapy is beneficial include, but are not limited to, treating arthritis after surgery, relieving sore muscles, reducing pain and inflammation (i.e., tendons and ligaments), and stimulating Acupoints along the Chinese Meridians. Also, light therapy is ideal if your horse is extremely sensitive because it does not have to come in direct contact with the skin during treatments.

There are many light devices on the market, and a high-quality unit with added frequencies of red combined with infrared usually produces better results than devices with only red light and the option for continuous or pulsed functionality.

How Light Therapy Works

The red and infrared light diodes are absorbed by the skin, muscles, tissues, and bone and work at the cellular level by raising the white blood cell count. The result is improved cell growth, DNA synthesis, and protein synthesis in cells. Light therapy also helps enhance blood circulation, increase oxygen supply, stimulate collagen production, and strengthen skin tissues.

Benefits Include:

  • Promotes healing
  • Increases circulation
  • Improves tissue repair
  • Provides pain relief
  • Heals wounds
  • Closes fresh wounds
  • Reduces formation of scar tissue and old scar tissue

Types Of Light Devices

There are two types of light therapy devices: LED (light emitting diodes) and low-level LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation). Both types affect the body’s biological systems, ultimately relieving pain and enhancing healing for wounds, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. There is a wide range of conditions and benefits associated with light therapy, with only a few mentioned here.

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Check out the VCL-100 Handheld Laser with Equine user manual.