Several local places offer Red Light Therapy (RLT)—chiropractic and physical therapy offices, wellness centers, and even businesses strictly focused on LED. After perusing provider websites, I chose to get the lowdown from Dr. Eric Broadworth, a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and the owner of Fuel Health & Wellness in Grandville and Grand Rapids.
To better understand RLT, I asked Broadworth three questions:
Broadworth said clients tend to first hear about RLT as something to help with weight loss. As a full-spectrum wellness facility, Fuel’s approach to weight loss—and everything else—is holistic. RLT is a tool that can help speed up the effects of weight loss, but it needs to be combined with good nutrition and attention to certain lifestyle factors.
In addition to weight loss, more and more people are requesting RLT for what it can do for skin health, skin issues, anxiety, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, gut health, systemic inflammation, and lymphedema, to name a few.
And then there are some who love RLT simply for how it makes them feel.
For those with a condition like rheumatoid arthritis, Broadworth said that RLT won't cure the affliction, but it can help manage symptoms. When it comes to clients with more acute injuries, clients get an even better effect using Fuel’s targeted class 4 laser, which gets into the tissue and helps with tissue healing.
Broadworth told of one client with Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Within several light therapy sessions he had more energy, was better able to keep up with his kids, and was walking better. Another client had back pain that she tried to treat with other methods. Once RLT was added to the mix, she was able to sleep eight hours in her bed instead of the recliner she had been using.
Does everyone have this amazing response? “No, not everyone does." Broadworth said, "But it has been wild to see the people that do.”
Broadworth said his wife calls it his “Magic Red Light” because it can do so many different things.
There are two conditions where Fuel is cautious and requires a doctor’s approval—clients who are pregnant or have cancer.
When Broadworth initially heard of RLT, he thought it sounded “very voodoo,” and that there wouldn’t be much too it. He delved into the research and discovered over 7000 different studies on the topic.
Broadworth explained that RLT uses certain wavelengths of light, especially the near infra-red wavelengths, to stimulate the mitochondria, making it more efficient at producing ATP—the energy currency of the cell.
The result is a whole systemic effect on all different conditions. When dosed with the proper power, time, and other parameters, there are a number of therapeutic benefits.
With weight loss, RLT makes the outer portion of the fat cell more permeable, that way the inner contents of the cell, the fatty acids and lipids, can leak out into the interstitial space.
Fuel’s Personal Trainer/Certified Stretch Practitioner Aubree Muckle explained that their RLT bed in Grandville has five different wavelengths—including a blue light—that go from the surface of the skin down to the cellular level. The epidermis level is where cells regenerate and you can get skin benefits, such as help with wrinkles and acne and a boost to your collagen production. At the cellular level you have vasodilation—a widening of blood vessels and where you can get inflammation benefits. Also at the cellular level the light interacts with the mitochondria—the powerhouse of the cell—and you can get a boost of energy.
After an RLT session, clients exercise or spend time on a vibration plate to help move fat as far away from the cell as possible. Muckle gave the analogy of a grape representing a cell. When the red light hits the grape, the fat inside the cell liquifies and seeps away, leaving your cell to be more like a raisin.
One final perk to note is that Fuel’s bed flashes, with intensity. The flashing does two different things. First, flashing light helps your body absorb and use red light better and in different ways than if the light were constant. Second, flashing light interacts with the cortisol in your brain, which can result in a decrease in stress and improvement in mood and sleep.
Broadworth recommends people do their homework. If you’re looking to pay for the service, research the manufacturer or vendor of the equipment that a facility is using. If you could just buy the same equipment from China—that doesn’t always mean it’s the best. Often times if you check those devices with a spectrometer, they won’t have the wavelengths that they claim.
According to Broadworth, full-body devices are a lot better than panels. Most places put panels over a massage bed. Panels can be very effective—and he does recommend them—for home use. “But to me,” Broadworth said, “I’m not going to pay a premium for a service if I can just put it in my home.”
How the facility doses the light also is important. The distance the lights are away from you impacts the irradiance—the amount your body and skin are absorbing. Even if the distance only differs by a few inches each time, it is going to affect the dosage and your outcomes. That’s why Broadworth likes using the beds. Not only are they hitting full body, but they offer the same treatment and same distance every time.
The equipment at Fuel is high-end and very, very expensive. In 2021 he first bought a full-body pad system. That proved to be so popular that a year later he upgraded to a full-body bed. The manufacturer is Trifecta Light. In 2023 Broadworth added a Summus class 4 laser which is a high-powered device used for treating acute injuries, like musculoskeletal issues. Broadworth said the high-end devices will give you quite a different experience.
The time came for me to try it.
To give me the best result, the therapist and I talked through RLT’s capability and the health issues I was hoping to target. I was given the run-down of what to expect and then left alone to begin.
I turned on the switch and climbed in. It was a deep, all-over heat. A fan strategically placed at the head of the light bed transported me to a towel on a beach, a slight breeze blowing over me. The flashing lights danced through the somewhat see-through goggles, appearing as a Kaleidoscope of oranges, yellows, and reds. The sight was hypnotic, ever changing. It was the calmest, most serene I had felt all day—all week. I could see how this could be addicting. My mind kept drifting, imagining my little grapes opening and turning into raisins, and also my inflammation trickling away.
It was total relaxation, and I didn’t want it to end.
But as all good things must, it came to an end. No, I hadn’t shed twenty pounds, been de-wrinkled, or completely drained of inflammation. Not yet. But that was only my first appointment. It did feel like I had stepped onto a yellow (red) brick road of healing paved with the tranquility of cruise control. And I’m just getting started.
Verdict: Based on Fuel's client results, I would consider Red Light a proven therapy for many.
Krista Yetzke is a native of Ottawa County. A jeep-driving, guitar-playing wife, mom, and everyday adventurer, Krista was raised on the love of Jesus, the great outdoors, the arts, the value of frugality, and the beauty of food as medicine.
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