Infrared sauna use has been known to provide a wide variety of health benefits. These benefits span many categories, including inflammation reduction, increased energy, and general vitality. One of the specific benefits is the alleviation of the pain and other symptoms brought on by fibromyalgia. The most well-known symptoms of fibromyalgia are widespread muscle and joint pain. These are common symptoms of many other conditions, often leading to misdiagnosis. Regular sauna use can rapidly help to reduce these symptoms and provide sorely needed relief.
Some fibromyalgia patients have been undertaking a new course of treatment, including sauna use. The therapy prescribed involves a combination of both regular sauna use and underwater exercise. These two activities complement and synergize to provide greater alleviation of symptoms. Patients who underwent this course over a period of 12 weeks showed marked improvement in their quality of life. Reductions in pain of 31 to 77 percent were recorded, associated with the relationship between fibromyalgia and infrared saunas. These improvements were shown to last during the 6-month monitoring period following the program.
Sauna treatment is greatly effective in the treatment of many different kinds of chronic pains. Regular use has been shown to reduce the severity of headache pain in those who suffer from chronic tension headaches. Patients with chronic pain have undergone a program combining many different treatment types. These include physical rehabilitation, exercise therapy, and sauna use. These programs showed a decrease in pain, anger, and depression among the patients involved. Also, 77 percent of those who included sauna use returned to work, as opposed to 50 percent.
The major increase in the effectiveness of these programs when sauna use is included clearly demonstrate the viability of sauna use as a treatment option. This is further shown in a study on another chronic pain condition, peripheral artery disease. After a course of 6 weeks of daily sauna use, a mere 15 minutes each day, patients reported an average 70 percent reduction in their chronic pain. They were able to walk twice as far before developing pain when compared with those who hadn’t undergone sauna use. Once again, using infrared sauna for chronic pain improved patient quality of life.
A major Japanese study has shown further evidence for the effectiveness of sauna use. The study involved 15 minutes of infrared sauna use per day for 2 to 5 days per week. The sauna was followed by a rest in a warm room for about half an hour. After the very first section patients reported up to a fifty percent reduction in pain intensity. Those who only made a single visit lost this alleviation after 4 days. Those who continued the program found they soon had pain reduction of up to 78 percent. With continued use these benefits were retained and the pain level was greatly reduced.
These studies, among others, have demonstrated that infrared sauna use has a place in the treatment of many chronic pain conditions, and specifically fibromyalgia. Those who suffer from fibromyalgia often find little relief for their chronic pain. It keeps them from getting the best enjoyment from their lives. Often it keeps them from work, putting a great financial burden on them and their families. The development of more effective treatment is a pressing concern in the medical community. Infrared sauna and infrared heat for fibromyalgia is at the forefront of this new wave of treatments.