http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-03/mali-slt031711.php

Though exercise is a key component to effective weight loss that will allow the dieter to shed the pounds quickly without gaining it back again after the diet is over, it is not always an easy process.  Muscle fatigue is a struggle faced by all exercisers.  It is unpleasant and can make exercise unappealing to those who are trying to begin a healthier lifestyle and achieve their ideal body mass index (BMI).

Even people who already have active lifestyles can suffer from muscle fatigue.  In a gym, it can be an inconvenience or can require an exerciser to need to rest more frequently.  Outside of the gym, though, it can not only be unpleasant, but can also cause dangerous situations, as a Greenville County, Virginia man discovered in June, 2010, when he had to be rescued when he’d climbed over fifty feet up the side of Rainbow Falls in Jones Gap State Park and, due to muscle fatigue, was unable to climb up or down.

This problem has led to massive efforts in the medical community to help to prevent muscle fatigue.  Though creatine supplements have been thought to be a viable solution for some, others dislike the fact that while some studies show positive results, not all human studies have demonstrated desirable outcomes. Furthermore, it the contradictory results of studies implies that not everyone responds to creatine in the same way.  Moreover, the conflicts with common substances (such as caffeine) and medications (such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and the side effects to creatine can be quite unpleasant for dieters and other users.  Some side effects include weight gain (which is obviously quite undesirable to dieters), muscle cramps (which makes exercising more difficult and negates the benefits for muscle fatigue), dizziness, high blood pressure, kidney damage and liver dysfunction.

Fortunately, a study published on July 13, 2010 in the journal Photomedicine and Laser Surgery called “Effect of Light-Emitting Diodes Therapy (LEDT) on Knee Extensor Muscle Fatigue” showed that using LEDT showed a significant reduction on quadriceps knee muscle fatigue using POST-MVC, higher torques (p=0.034)  with LEDT (237.68±48.82Nm) when compared to placebo (225.68±44.14Nm) treatment.

Light therapies may, therefore, hold the key to natural and side effect-free prevention of muscle fatigue for dieters who are trying to exercise for weight loss.

Sources:

• http://www.wyff4.com/news/24148535/detail.html
• http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TB0-50F36FP-2&_user=10&_coverDate=07%2F01%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=7da36f99f04c40c7400f840ba6e1b213
• http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/creatine-000297.htm
• http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/pho.2009.2688

This past weekend I went to a LLLT Symposium put on by the American Society for Photobiology.  It was awesome, and I’ll write more about it as soon as I get the chance, but I want to post this article while it’s still on the top of my email window:

Paralyzed Healdsburg teen regains some feeling

It’s a long read, but the point is a completely paralyzed kid has regained some movement in his fingers and arm after simple light therapy.

It was for real, and now, a week later, Ripa can move all four fingers and his thumb. If someone bends his right elbow to a 90-degree angle, he can move it back and forth a bit.

Medically, it means some motor nerves have managed to reconnect across the injured part of his spinal cord.

… It came after five days of an alternative and experimental treatment called photonic light therapy, which is supposed to stimulate the repair of injured tissue.

Over the weekend I saw very graphic slides of rat nerves (I never knew actual nerves were so big) being regenerated by red/infrared light.   The light was able to penetrate through fur, skin, fat, muscle and whatever else was between it and the spinal column.  They both crushed and severed the spinal cords of rats, and were able to achieve total or partial nerve regeneration with the aid of the light.  Even the researchers were throwing the word “miracle” around now and then.

I was thrilled to see the above article, and I can’t wait to see the outcome of his case.  It is encouraging that light therapy for nerve regeneration is already being tested in major hospitals, because that means it is much closer than I thought to being “approved” for general use, and people can start to benefit from the miracle of light.

“Photonic Light Therapy” is not as super technical as it sounds.  A photon is simply a particle of light, the source of the light does not matter much.  The researchers I listened to were using either red and/or infrared light in either low lever lasers or LEDs.