EXAM – “Ouch.” When you reach a certain age and are active, this sentence is a regular utterance. It’s safe for us. We are both in our early 60s and very active. This means regular joint and muscle pain. I am always looking for ways to help manage this pain. I recently wrote about a Carex TENS unit and a Comfytemp wireless TENS unit. Both helped us deal with nagging pain. Still, I’m still interested in other therapies, so when this Lifepro InfraGlow Red Light Therapy Light was reviewed, I asked for it. Now that we’ve been using it for a while, let’s see what it is and what it’s supposed to do.
What is that?
The Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow is a bulb with 18 separate LEDs. Nine produces a 660nm red light that is believed to improve the appearance of your skin by minimizing fine lines and wrinkles. The other nine LEDs produce 850nm near-infrared (NIR) light that penetrates deep into tissues and joints, promoting cellular repair and reducing inflammation. I am not a medical professional so I will not comment on the validity of all the claims that are made for this device, only what I see in terms of results.
Red Light Therapy (RLT) has been shown to help with deep tissue repair, wrinkle reduction, sleep improvement, scar reduction, hair regrowth, symptoms of dementia, etc. I will focus on the pain relief aspect of the treatment, especially on my knees.
What’s in the box?
- Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow Bulb
- Socket with clip and power cord
- User’s Guide
- Guarantee and free gift card
- Carry pouch
Hardware specifications
- Bulb design: LED
- Number of LEDs: 18
- LED wavelength: 9-660nm red + 9-850nm near infrared
- Output: 54W (18 x 3W)
- Bulb Size: 4.76″
- Bulb base: standard E26 screw base
- Power control: In-line on/off rocker switch
- Power cord length: 5′ 5″
- Mounting Hardware: Spring clip with hinged head
- Operating distance: 6 to 20 inches from the treatment area
- Bulb life: 50,000 hours
Design and features
The Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow bulb itself is a bit large at nearly five inches in diameter. It can fit any standard socket as long as the width of the bulb will fit. There are cooling fins around the outside of the bulb. In my testing, the bulb got warm but never hot.
On the face of the bulb you can see the lenses of the nine 660nm red LEDs and nine 850nm NIR LEDs.
The LEDs are distributed over the entire bulb so that the light is well diffused. The LEDs that appear red are the 660nm versions. The ones that are much less visible are the 850nm near-infrared LEDs.
The included outlet has an attached power cord with an inline toggle power switch.
You can also see that the socket has a depth adjustment knob. I do not know why. The clip attaches to the socket with a hinged head, allowing you to swivel and swivel the light into just about any position.
Install
Screw the Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow bulb into the supplied socket or the socket of your choice. Then turn it on and point it at the affected area.
Performance
My knees hurt most of the time. It doesn’t help that I wear extra tonnage on them all the time, I know, but they hurt a lot, especially after exercise. We play a lot of water volleyball, which involves a ton of jumping, which adds to the wear and tear. I decided that my knees would be the main focus of this treatment review.
I used the Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow to perform a series of ten minute treatments over several days. Sometimes I treated both knees simultaneously, like in the photo above. Sometimes I focused on just one knee.
Although the Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow light does not heat up, it does, but not uncomfortably. With the light more than a few centimeters away, I don’t even feel it. But… after ten minutes, if I feel my knees, they’re hot. The light does something in there!
So the million dollar question is, does the Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow work? Does it help recovery after exercise? Let me say definitely…I don’t know. But my knees are better since using the light. Are these the results of the treatment? Is it a placebo effect? Is it because I jump differently lately? I have no idea. But my knees are better, so I’m not complaining.
One thing I find interesting is that all of the photos on the Lifepro Fitness website show people using it with their eyes closed. There was a free gift card included in the box. This free gift, in exchange for registration, is a pair of red light therapy glasses. The manual mentions that exposing your eyes to red light therapy for long periods of time is not a good idea. I asked for the glasses and they arrived about a month later. I wore my sunglasses during the treatment and blocked the light with a cloth or my hand. The new goggles are much more practical and theoretically offer better eye protection. I look pretty stylish, don’t I?
The lenses are very dark green. Here’s a look at the exterior so you can see a comparison versus no lens.
They also included a hard storage case.
The biggest issue I have is that the Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow treatment takes time. They recommend a processing time of 5 to 30 minutes. Unfortunately there are no electrical outlets in our living room near where we sit. This means that I have to sit somewhere else when doing a treatment. This is not the bulb’s fault but it is just an acknowledgment of the requirements when using this type of treatment. Of course, any type of therapy takes time – I’m just impatient.
What I like
- Easy to use
- Seems to offer some benefits
- Sending free goggles is a nice plus
What I would change
- A built-in timer would be nice
- I would like an even larger bulb that could treat a larger area
Final Thoughts
I can’t tell you that the Lifepro Fitness InfraGlow does everything it claims to do. I haven’t noticed any difference in the skin on my knees, but the skin on my knees looks normal. I was targeting knee pain, and this light is supposed to penetrate up to 1.5″ below the surface of the skin and promote healing and rejuvenation. I can tell you that my knees, although still sore, seem to be getting better. As I said above, I don’t know if I’m just imagining it or if the light is actually doing something. I do not care. To feel better is to feel better. I plan to continue using the light after exercise and see how it goes. Here I am after two hours of water volleyball and a bike ride.
If I find out anything, anyway, I’ll post an update to the review after a few months. Anyway, I’ll take the Lifepro InfraGlow red light over this one…
Price: $49.99
Or buy: Lifepro; Amazon ($34.99 plus $5 off with automatic coupon to date)
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Lifepro Fitness.
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