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The Technology of Healthmate™ Far Infrared Therapy — Offered by Sixth Pillar — |
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Excerpted from a booklet by Dr. Aaron M. Flickstein (the complete booklet is included with Item #071, in the Sauna Pre-Purchase Pack)
Edited for Sixth Pillar by Glenn Stockton  Table of Contents:History of the Sauna and Development of Infrared Technology Energy Band of Infrared Saunas The Structure of Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna Heaters Infrared Heaters and Electromagnetic Fields How the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna is Unique Worldwide Reports on Infrared Sauna Use The Use of Infrared Heat to Produce Cardiovascular Conditioning Musculoskeletal Improvements with Infrared Heat Effects of Infrared Heat on Rheumatoid Arthritis Other Therapeutic Effects of Infrared Heat: 1. Infrared heat increases the extensibility of collagen tissues. 2. Infrared heat decreases joint stiffness 3. Infrared heat relieves muscle spasms. 4. Infrared heat treatment leads to pain relief. 5. Infrared heat increases blood flow. 6. Infrared heat assists in resolution of inflammatory infiltrates, edema, and exudates. 7. Infrared heat introduced in cancer therapy. 8. Infrared heat affects soft tissue injury. Chinese Studies Report Positive Effects of Infrared Heat Japanese Studies on the Positive Effects of Infrared Heat Speculation about Infrared Heat Effects on Blood Circulation Infrared Heat and Coronary Artery Disease, Arteriosclerosis, and Hypertension Aging and Infrared Heat Therapy Ear, Nose, and Throat Conditions Relieved with Infrared Heat
Radiant heat is simply a form of energy that heats objects directly through a process called conversion without having to heat the air between. Radiant heat is also called infrared energy or IR. The electromagnetic spectrum is divided into three segments by wavelength, measured in microns or micrometers (a micron = 1/1,000,000 of a meter): 0.076 to 1.5 microns = near or close; 1.5 to 5.6 = middle or intermediate; 5.6 to 1000 = far or long wave infrared. The far infrared segment of the electromagnetic spectrum occurs just below, or "infra" to, red light as the next lowest energy band. This band of light is not visible to human eyes but can be seen by special cameras that translate infrared into visible colors. We can, however, feel this type of light, which we perceive as heat. The sun produces most of its energy in the infrared segment of the spectrum. Our atmosphere has a "window" in it that allows infrared rays -- in the 7 to 14 micron ranges -- to safely reach the earth's surface. When warmed, the earth radiates infrared rays in the 7 to 14 micron bands with its peak output at 10 microns. The infrared heat produced by infrared saunas, such as the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar, is similar to the heat from the sun. Our tissues normally produce infrared energy and burn it as fuel to keep us warm and use it for tissue repair. Tissue production of infrared energy is associated with a variety of healing responses. At times, the infrared energy in our tissues may require a boost to a higher level to insure the fullest healing possible for tissue repair. Dr. Tsu-Tsair Oliver Chi, when summing up how infrared devices are attuned to the human body, reported that body tissues that need an infrared boost selectively absorb infrared rays. After boosting a tissue's infrared energy, the remaining rays pass onward harmlessly. This phenomenon is called "resonant absorption." Our bodies radiate infrared energy through the skin at 3 to 50 microns, with most output at 9.4 microns. Our palms emit infrared energy too, between 8 to 14 microns. Palm healing, an ancient tradition in China, has used the healing properties of infrared rays for 3,000 years. Yogis in India also employ palm healing and recommend it especially for relieving eye strain.
History of the Sauna and Development of Infrared Technology The Finns popularized sauna use. Their ancient religious ceremonies used it for mental, spiritual, and physical cleansing. Use of the sauna in their religion stayed with them when they migrated between 5,000 and 3,000 BC from an area northwest of Tibet to their present location in Finland. Native American Indians used sweat lodges for cleansing and purifying, recognizing the health benefits of a sweat as well. Dr. Tadashi Ishikawa, a member of the Research and Development Department of Fuji Medical, received a patent in 1965 for a zirconia ceramic infrared heater used in the first healing infrared thermal systems. Medical practitioners in Japan were the only ones using infrared thermal systems for 14 years. In 1979, they were finally released for public use. The technique has been further refined into infrared thermal systems that have been sold in the United States since 1981. One use of infrared heat in the United States has been in the form of panels used in hospital nurseries to warm newborns.
Energy Band of Infrared Saunas Heaters used in infrared saunas emit about one-third of their output in the middle infrared band -- from 2 to 5.6 microns -- for deep penetration and the other two-thirds in the long band -- from 5.6 to 25 microns. The output is evenly spread around the 9.4-micron pivot point of peak human output. This distribution maximizes the higher penetration of the middle band waves and combines them with the long waves that produce resonant absorption for healthy tissue output. Chinese researchers consider a band between 2 to 25 microns the most therapeutic.
The Structure of Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna Heaters Sand warmed by an electrical resistance coil embedded in it is the source of heat in an infrared sauna heater. The sand and coil are contained in a long, thin, ceramic tube tuned to the needs of human body tissue. A metallic grill that is covered by a soft coating of suede-tex shields the zirconia emoting tube. It is safe to touch when the heater in the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna is operating.
Infrared Heaters and Electromagnetic Fields Recently there have been reports detailing the hazards of exposure to certain kinds of electromagnetic fields, such as those from high-tension power lines, cell phones, or from computer display terminals. Infrared heating systems have been tested in Japan and found free of toxic electromagnetic fields. The Swedish National Institute of Radiation Protection has concluded, as well, that infrared heaters are not dangerous. Instead, Japanese researchers have reported that infrared radiant heat antidote the negative effects of toxic electromagnetic sources.
How the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna is Unique An infrared heater, such as the one used in the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar, employs infrared energy which penetrates body's tissues to a depth of over one and one-half inches. Its energy output is tuned to correspond closely to the body's own radiant energy so that body tissues absorb close to 93 percent of the infrared waves that reach the skin. A conventional sauna, in comparison, must rely on an indirect means of heat to produce its heating effect on the body (convection -- air currents -- and conduction -- direct skin contact with hot air). An infrared heater heats only 20 percent of the air, leaving over 80 percent of the heat available to directly heat the body. Thus, an infrared heated sauna can warm its users to a greater depth and more efficiently than a conventional sauna. The Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna heater's output creates penetrating heat and mildly warm air that only heats the skin superficially. This crucial difference between it and traditional saunas explains the many unprecedented benefits that come from its use that are not attainable in conventional saunas. Another difference lies in the process of sweating. Infrared energy created in the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna may induce up to two to three times the volume of sweat produced in a traditional sauna while operating at significantly cooler temperatures (100 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit -- 37 to 55 Celsius -- compared to 180-235 degrees Fahrenheit). The lower heat is safer for those concerned with cardiovascular risk factors that might be adversely affected by high temperatures encountered in more traditional saunas. (On the subject of cardiovascular concerns, German researchers reported beneficial effects from hour-long whole-body infrared exposure in two groups of hypertensive patients studied in 1989, including a 24-hour long increase in peripheral blood flow and decrease in high blood pressure.) One issue for traditional sauna users has been breathing exceptionally hot air. It is distinctly more pleasant to breathe air that is between 50 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 60 degrees Celsius). In an infrared sauna you breathe cooler air while maintaining a feeling of warmth. As a result, infrared sauna users report a feeling of well being as an after effect. Compared to traditional saunas, which require a closed atmosphere to maintain the levels of heat required for therapeutic results, the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna can be used with the door or window fully open if the only desired effect is infrared penetration. Those seeking only infrared penetration might be people who use the sauna fully clothed to warm up prior to stretching, working out, running, or exposure to cold weather. One of the practical aspects of the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna is that it requires only five to ten minutes to warm from room temperature compared to 30 to 90 minutes for traditional saunas. Due to this fact alone, more people are likely to use their saunas on a regular basis. It also makes them more practical for use in clinics and resorts. The Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna is inexpensive to operate. A 20-minute session, including a 10-minute warm up period, costs about 5 cents ($0.05) for electricity. A comparable session with the full warm-up of a conventional sauna costs about 75 cents ($0.75) to a dollar ($1). In other words, daily usage of the infrared sauna will raise an electric bill by only $1.50 a month compared to $22 to $30 a month using a conventional sauna, if each is used for 20 minutes after warm up. The Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar takes only minutes to set up. Traditional saunas require building or modifying a room, or creating a separate building. Traditional Native American sweat lodges require labor-intensive installation.
World-Wide Reports on Infrared Sauna Use Over the last 25 years, Japanese and Chinese researchers and clinicians have completed extensive research on infrared treatments and report many provocative findings. In Japan, there is an "infrared society" composed of medical doctors and physical therapists dedicated to further infrared research. Their findings support the health benefits of infrared therapy as a method of healing. There have been over 700,000 infrared thermal systems sold in the Orient for whole-body treatments. An additional 30 million people have received localized infrared treatment in the Orient, Europe, and Australia with lamps, which emit the same 2 to 25 micron wave bands as employed in a whole-body system. In Germany, physicians in an independently developed form have used whole-body infrared therapy for over 80 years.
The Use of Infrared Heat to Produce Cardiovascular Conditioning The August 7, 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported what is common knowledge today: Many people who run do so to place a demand on their cardiovascular system as well as to build muscle. What isn't well known is that it also reported the "regular use of a sauna may impart a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories as regular exercise." It has been found that the infrared sauna makes it possible for people in wheelchairs, those who are otherwise unable to exert themselves, and those who won't follow an exercising/conditioning program to achieve a cardiovascular training effect. It also allows for more variety in any ongoing training program. Blood flow during whole-body hyperthermia is reported to rise from a normal five to seven quarts a minute to as many as 13 quarts a minute. Due to the deep penetration of infrared rays (over one and a half inches into body tissue), there is a deep heating effect in the muscle tissue and internal organs. The body responds to this heat with a hypothalamic-induced increase in both heart volume and rate. Beneficial heart stress leads to a sought-after cardiovascular training and conditioning effect. Medical research confirms the use of a sauna provides cardiovascular conditioning as the body works to cool itself and involves substantial increases in heart rate, cardiac output, and metabolic rate. As a confirmation of the validity of this form of cardiovascular conditioning, extensive research by NASA in the early 1980's led to the conclusion that infrared stimulation of cardiovascular function would be the ideal way to maintain cardiovascular conditioning in American astronauts during long space flights. Infrared Heat, Caloric Consumption, and Weight Control In its Wellness Letter, October 1990, the University of California Berkeley reported that "the 1980's was the decade of high-impact aerobics classes and high-mileage training. Yet there was something elitist about the way exercise was prescribed: only strenuous workouts would do, you had to raise your heart rate to between X and Y, and the only way to go was to "go for the burn." Such strictures insured that most 'real' exercisers were relatively young and in good shape to begin with. Many Americans got caught up in the fitness boom, but probably just as many fell by the wayside. As we've reported, recent research shows that you don't have to run marathons to become fit - that burning just 1,000 calories a week... is enough. Anything goes, as long as it burns these calories." Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology reports that producing one gram of sweat requires 0.586 kcal. The JAMA citation above goes on to state that "A moderately conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 grams in a sauna, consuming nearly 300 kcal - the equivalent of running two to three miles. A heat-conditioned person can easily sweat off 600 to 800 kcal with no adverse effect. While the weight of water loss can be regained by rehydration, the calories consumed will not be." Since a sauna, such as the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna, helps generate two to three times the sweat produced in a conventional hot-air sauna, the implications for increased caloric consumption are quite impressive. Assuming one takes a sauna for 30 minutes, some interesting comparisons can be drawn. Two of the highest calorie output exercises are rowing and running marathons. Peak output on a rowing machine or during a marathon burns about 600 calories in 30 minutes. An infrared sauna may better this from "just slightly" up to 250 percent by burning 900 to 2400 calories in the same period of time. It might in a single session simulate the consumption of energy equal to that expended in a six- to nine-mile run. The infrared sauna, such as the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar, can, therefore, play a pivotal role in both weight control and cardiovascular conditioning. It is valuable for those who don't exercise and those who can't exercise and want an effective weight control and fitness maintenance program, and the benefits regular exercise contribute to such a program.
Musculoskeletal Improvements with Infrared Heat Success has been reported from infrared treatments by Japanese researchers for the following musculoskeletal conditions:
The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology reports "medical practitioners make use of infrared radiant heat to treat sprains, strains, bursitis, peripheral vascular diseases, arthritis, and muscle pain..." Dr. Masao Nakamura of the O & P Medical Clinic in Japan has reported success with the use of infrared heat treatment for:
Effects of Infrared Heat on Rheumatoid Arthritis A case study reported in Sweden worked with a 70-year-old man who had rheumatoid arthritis secondary to acute rheumatic fever. He had reached his toxic limit of gold injections and his Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) was still 125. After using an infrared heat system for less than five months, his ESR was down to 11. The rheumatologist worked with a 14-year-old Swedish girl who had difficulty walking downstairs due to knee pain from the age of eight. This therapist told her mother the girl would be in a wheelchair within two years if she didn't begin gold corticosteriod therapy. After three infrared sauna treatments, she began to become more agile and subsequently took up folk dancing without the aid of conventional approaches in her recovery. A clinical trial in Japan reported a successful solution for seven out of seven cases of rheumatoid arthritis treated with whole-body infrared therapy. These case studies and clinical trials indicate that further study is warranted for the use of whole-body infrared therapy in the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Other Therapeutic Effects of Infrared Heat: The following information has been summarized from Chapter 9 of Therapeutic Heat and Cold, Fourth Edition, Editors Justus F. Lehmann, M.D., Williams, and Wilkin, or concluded from data gathered there. Generally it is accepted that heat produces the following desirable therapeutic effects: 1. Infrared heat increases the extensibility of collagen tissues. Stretching of tissue in the presence of heat would be especially valuable in working with ligaments, joint capsules, tendons, fasciae, and synoviurn that have become scarred, thickened, or contracted. Such stretching at 45 degrees Celsius caused much less weakening in stretched tissues for a given elongation than a similar elongation produced at normal tissue temperatures. Experiments cited clearly showed low-force stretching could produce significant residual elongation when heat is applied together with stretching or range-of-motion exercises. This is safer than stretching tissues at normal tissue temperatures. 2. Infrared heat decreases joint stiffness. 3. Infrared heat relieves muscle spasms. 4. Infrared heat treatment leads to pain relief. Heat has been shown to reduce pain sensation by direct action on both free-nerve endings in tissues and on peripheral nerves. In one dental study, repeated heat applications led finally to abolishment of the whole nerve response responsible for pain arising from dental pulp. Heat may lead to both increased endorphin production and a shutting down of the so called "spinal gate" of Melzack and Wall, each of which can reduce pain. Localized infrared therapy using lamps tuned to the 2 to 25 micron waveband is used for the treatment and relief of pain by over 40 reputable Chinese medical institutes. 5. Infrared heat increases blood flow. Heating muscles produces an increased blood flow level similar to that seen during exercise. Temperature elevation also produces an increased blood flow and dilation directly in capillaries, arterioles, and venules, probably through direct action on their smooth muscles. The release of bradykinin, released as a consequence of sweat-gland activity, also produces increased blood flow and vasodilatation. Whole-body hyperthermia, with a consequent core temperature elevation, further induces vasodilatation via a hypothalamic-induced decrease in sympathetic tone on the arteriovenous anastomoses. Vasodilatation is also produced by axonal reflexes that change vasomotor balance. 6. Infrared heat assists in resolution of inflammatory infiltrates, edema, and exudates. 7. Infrared heat introduced in cancer therapy. 8. Infrared heat affects soft tissue injury. Chinese Studies Report Positive Effects of Infrared Heat Researchers report over 90 percent success in a summary of Chinese studies that assessed the effects of infrared heat therapy on:
Japanese Studies on the Positive Effects of Infrared Heat As reported in Infrared Therapy by Dr. Yamajaki, Japanese researchers have produced the following provocative results with whole-body infrared heat:
Speculation about Infrared Heat Effects on Blood Circulation All of the following ailments may be associated to some degree with poor circulation and, thus, may respond well to increased peripheral dilation associated with infrared treatment:
Infrared Heat and Coronary Artery Disease, Arteriosclerosis, and Hypertension Finnish researchers, reporting the regular use of conventional saunas state "there is abundant evidence to suggest that blood vessels of regular sauna-goers remain elastic and pliable longer due to the regular dilation and contraction" of blood vessels induced by sauna use, such as the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar. In 1989, German medical researchers reported in "Dermatol Monatsschr" a single whole-body session of infrared-induced hyperthermia lasting over one hour had only beneficial effects on subjects with State I and II essential hypertension. Each subject experienced a rise in core body temperature to a maximum level of 35.5 degrees Celsius (100.5 Fahrenheit). All of the subjects in one experiment had significant decreases in arterial, venous, and mean blood pressure that lasted for at least 24 hours and linked, according to researchers, to a persistent peripheral dilation effect. An improvement in plasma viscosity was also noted. Another group of similar hypertensive patients was also studied under the same conditions of hyperthermia, with an eye toward more carefully evaluating the circulatory system effects induced by this type of whole-body heating. During each infrared session, there was a significant decrease of blood pressure, cardiac ejection resistance, and total peripheral resistance in every subject. There was also a significant increase of the subjects' heart rates, stroke volumes, cardiac outputs, and ejection fractions. The researchers site these last three effects as evidence that the stimulation of the heart during infrared-induced hyperthermia is well compensated, while the prior list of effects show clear detail of the microcirulatory changes leading to the desired result of a lowering blood pressure.
Aging and Infrared Heat Therapy Problems often accompanying aging have been reported in Japan to be alleviated or reduced by the use of infrared therapy:
Ear, Nose, and Throat Conditions Relieved with Infrared Heat In Japan, ear, nose, and throat conditions were relieved with infrared heat treatments:
Mikkel Aaland's book Sweat (Capra Press, 1978) quotes a Finnish doctor: "The best dressed foreigner can come into a doctor's office, and when his skin is examined, it is found to be rough as bark. On the other hand, as a result of the sauna, the skin of any Finnish worker is supple and healthy."
Contraindications As you can see, the segment of the infrared spectrum emitted by an infrared sauna, such as the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar, is reputed to offer an astounding range of possible therapeutic benefits and effects in research conducted around the world. However, the data presented in this article is offered for reference purposes only and to stimulate further observation. No implication of Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar creating a cure for or treating any disease is implied nor should it be inferred. If you have a disease, be sure to consult with a primary-care physician concerning it. Prescription Drugs: If you are using prescription drugs, check with your physician or pharmacist for possible changes in the drug's effect due to an interaction with infrared energy. Certain Ailments: According to some authorities, it is considered inadvisable to raise the core temperature of someone with adrenal suppression, systemic lupus erythematosus, or multiple sclerosis. Joint Problems: If a person has a recent (acute) joint injury, it should not be heated for the first 48 hours or until the hot and swollen symptoms subside. Joints that are chronically hot and swollen may respond poorly to vigorous heating of any kind. Vigorous heating is strictly contraindicated in cases of enclosed infections be they dental, in joints, or in any other tissues. Pregnancy: In pregnancy or the suspicion of pregnancy, discontinuation of sauna use is recommended. Finnish women use traditional saunas that don't heat the body as deeply as an infrared sauna for only six to twelve minutes and reportedly leave at that time due to perceived discomfort. Their usage of traditional saunas at this low level of intensity is not linked to birth defects. Infrared sauna use may be two to three times more intense due to deep tissue penetration, and comparatively shorter two to six minute sessions hardly seem worth any minimal risk they may present. Surgical Implants: Metal pins, rods, artificial joints, or any other surgical implants generally reflect infrared rays and are not heated by an infrared heat system. Nevertheless, a person should consult his or her surgeon before receiving such therapy. Certainly infrared therapy must be discontinued if a person experiences pain near any implants. Silicone: Silicone does absorb infrared energy. Implanted silicone or silicone prostheses for nose or ear replacement may be warmed by infrared rays. Since silicone melts at over 200 degrees Celsius, it should not be adversely effected by an infrared heat system, however. It is still advised that a person checks with his or her surgeon, and possibly a representative of the product manufacturer, to be certain. Menstruation: Heating of the low-back area of women during the menstrual period may temporarily increase menstrual flow. Once a woman is aware that this is occurring, she can choose to allow herself to experience this short-term effect without worry. Or she may simply avoid using an infrared heat source at that time in her cycle. Hemorrhage: Hemophiliacs and anyone predisposed to hemorrhage should avoid infrared usage or any type of heating that would induce vasodilatation that can lead to the tendency to bleed. Worsened Condition: Should any condition worsen with the use of an infrared heat system, the use of the system should be discontinued. Pain: Pain should not be experienced when using an infrared heat system. If one does, the use of radiant heat is clearly inappropriate for the person at that time. Do not attempt to self-treat any disease with the Healthmate™ Far Infrared Sauna from Sixth Pillar without direct supervision of a physician. |
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