I’ve decided to test various self-improvement products that I’ve always been curious about but didn’t believe in enough to pay for. Honestly, I don’t believe in external stuff that much – that’s why I teach reality creation! There are not many products that really work, independent of the placebo-effect (they work because people believe they work, not because of something product-inherent). As not to be too narrow-minded, dismissing anything external, I’ve decided to take ten different self-improvement products for a test ride.
After learning that professional athletes are using LLLT (low-level laser lights) or cold-laser-therapy, I decided to product-test one of these “miracle devices” for myself. Is this just another mass-marketed fad that will disappear in a few decades, or does it provide tangible results? I acquired a product Quantum Rejuvination (image above). I chose this product randomly out of hundreds available online, so this is not an endorsement of this particular brand.
It is claimed that LLLT regenerates cells and muscle tissue. It speeds up the healing of joints and muscles after injuries. It provides relief for muscle trigger points, fibromyalgia pain, inflammatory arthritis pain, alzheimers, parkinsons, skin tightening and wrinkles, autoimmune thyroiditis, hair loss, macular degeneration, kidney failure, peripheral neuropathy and other things. I’m not familiar with the science behind it, but apparently the laser creates an electrical charge in the water of our cells that assists in regenerating them, among other things.
Regardless of whether a device is mainstream or alternative, I am generally skeptical. It is because marketing has the power to hypnotize and create temporary effects that are not reliable long-term.
I did no almost no research before ordering because I wanted to try it without “frontloading” (being hypnotized into believing in a thing, thereby letting the belief create the results). When it arrived on the 1st of January 2023, I didn’t have anything to practice it on for two weeks so it just lie around collecting dust. Then, one day I had slight pain in my lower arm. I had been helping a friend move and had been lifting furniture all day. My right arm felt sore and I lie in bed unable to sleep. Then I remembered the unused LLLT device! I applied it for 3 minutes to different parts of my lower arm and elbow joint. At this point I hadn’t even read the instructions, I was going by intuition. Not much changed. Even so, I fell asleep and felt better the next morning. I guess I’d have felt better anyway, because the body self-heals during sleep. The body heals while the mind is switched off. Since most people no longer switch off their minds, the sleeping phase is the only self-healing opportunity.
A few days later I had an intense Tennis-Tournament. In Tournaments (as opposed to social play), I sometimes make unfavorable movements that lead to sore spots in my knees, elbows or wrists. It would be better I learn how to move better, but at least now I had an opportunity to try the device! It’s fun to own something that used to only be available to sports-doctors. Since it had not alleviated muscle pain a few days earlier I had no expectation that it would do anything to the pain I had now. I had slight pain in my wrist, my right knee and a stronger pain in my elbow. I’ve seen people having to quit Tennis for weeks or even months if they had “tennis elbow”. I’ve twice had to quit for a week (my self-healing methods speed up healing time). This time I wouldn’t use any self-healing technique. I’d only use the cold-laser device.
I applied it on and off for 10 minutes throughout the day to different spots of my elbow, as the manual instructed. I applied it 3 minutes on and off (1 minute per session) to my right knee. I applied it only once to my wrist. All three pains completely disappeared by the next day. Unusual! I had never recovered that quickly from tennis-elbow without using self-healing techniques. I replicated these results a week later with a knee issue.
After these initial results, I read up on it a little. There are no known adverse effects of LLLT. The only warning is that it shouldn’t be placed on the thyroid (throat). There are studies that claim LLLT assists people who experience hair loss. I read that it creates hair growth but only if used continually. As soon as discontinued, hair loss resumes. Is either of those statements true? I don’t know. I decided I won’t be frying my head with laser. I don’t know enough about low-level-laser to understand its long term risks and benefits. Anyone considering it should ask a physician first or read up on it. I don’t recommend following my example of haphazardly trying stuff I don’t understand. Apparently the FDA has been cracking down on anyone who claims it can do more than aid in muscle regeneration.
From a purely intuitive perspective, it makes sense to me that light would assist in healing. Humans are made of light, of electromagnetic energy. To heal light, simply add light. I realize this sounds awfully simplistic, but life really isn’t any more complicated.
One point of skepticism I have is that applying warmth to muscle pain, has always relaxed the muscles and aided in quicker regeneration. It’s hard for me to tell whether there is an inherent difference between a heat-pad and this laser-light. But then I thought about it a little and to be honest, the laser isn’t that warm. It’s called cold laser after all. So there are other factors at play than we have with a warm pad.
An article on the website National Institute of Health, has this to say:
The test results speak for themselves. The fact that athletes from NBA, NFL, Champions League soccer teams, Olympics etc. and Government agencies use cold-laser-therapy, speaks for itself.
The FDA is probably right that it’s mainly for muscle regeneration not other stuff. A friend of mine was having a cold. I had him apply it to different places but it had no discernable effect. His cold lasted another few days.
On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being horrible 5 mediocre and 10 awesome, Id’ rate it 7. Why not 10? Because it looks to me like its been hyped for more than it’s capable of. It didn’t cause “immediate relief”, it aided in quicker regeneration. That’s good. But I can achieve similar effects through self-healing-techniques. I wouldn’t want external devices to take away from my desire to improve my habits. I would like to change my habits of movement in Tennis so that I don’t get any pain in the first place. I’d rate the power to change habits a solid 10!
If you have similar or different results with LLLT (negative or positive) feel free to comment below this article at www.twitter.com/realitycreation