Chronic knee pain remains a global health issue that limits mobility and reduces quality of life as symptoms continue to resist traditional treatments. The worldwide prevalence of knee osteoarthritis is estimated to be 16% in individuals aged 15 or older, meaning that there is a genuine need to better address a growing public health concern.
As modern research develops, innovative therapies combining science-backed recovery devices with advanced technology are creating a powerful synergistic rehabilitation tool for reducing knee discomfort and restoring function. One such combination currently gaining traction is the use of red light therapy in conjunction with knee restoration protocols, offering a multi-layered approach to healing.
In our recent webinar with Dr. Mike Lynch and Kineon co-founder Forrest Smith, we did a deep dive into the amazing benefits that combining these science-backed recovery tools can have for chronic knee pain.
“We’re not just treating knees. We’re treating how the body moves, how blood gets into the area, and how the nervous system is perceiving pain.” - Dr. Mike Lynch
What is Red Light Therapy?
Red light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation, delivers specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light to stimulate natural cellular repair processes, improve local blood circulation, and reduce discomfort. It penetrates the affected tissues at different depths to deal with surface-level issues and influence cellular function directly.
Here’s what Kineon co-founder Forrest Smith had to say about their Move+ device, the red light therapy tool at the center of our discussion:
"We’ve fine-tuned dosing using two key wavelengths: red light doses superficial tissues effectively, while near-infrared light penetrates deeper tissues, like muscles and joints, reaching critical mitochondrial photo acceptors such as cytochrome c oxidase. This combined approach maximizes blood flow and cellular energy production."
Some of the science-backed benefits of RLT include:
- Enhanced tissue repair and regeneration
- Improved blood flow
- Reduced swelling and discomfort in the target area
- Enhanced joint strength and mobility
- Better exercise performance
What Are Knee Restoration Protocols?
Knee restoration protocols are designed to reduce knee discomfort, restore mobility, and correct knee joint alignment in patients suffering from chronic knee pain. They combine several non-invasive treatments to provide a multi-level approach:
- Knee Traction — Controlled mechanical tension is applied to the knee joint to relieve compression, improve joint space, and enhance circulation of synovial fluid. The primary aim is to reduce discomfort and promote natural cellular healing processes.
- Manual Therapy With Chiropractic Adjustments — Manual adjustments are gradually performed to address joint fixation in the knee, hips, pelvis, and lower back to correct compensatory movement patterns.
- SoftWave Therapy — SoftWave TRT therapy uses electrohydraulically produced acoustic soundwaves to increase bloodflow, modulate inflammation, improve and accelerate natural tissue regeneration and enhance soft tissue repair around the knee joint.
- Targeted Exercise — Mobility-focused exercises aim to strengthen the surrounding muscles and joints to reduce knee joint stress. Common focus areas include the hip flexors and the pelvis.
"So much of what’s happening in the pelvis shows up in the knees. When you bring mobility back to the right hip flexor, you see changes in the pelvis, low back, and IT band compensations that cause knee pain." - Dr. Mike Lynch
Challenges of Chronic Knee Pain
Chronic knee pain often stems from a complex combination of issues, including muscular imbalances, joint degeneration, and poor movement patterns. Managing the resulting discomfort and loss of function can become frustrating when conventional approaches fail to deliver beyond short-term symptom relief.
NSAIDs and corticosteroid injections offer temporary relief by reducing swelling and discomfort, but fail to deal with the root cause of the issue. Without improving natural healing processes and addressing mobility at a structural level, recovery is a long and frustrating uphill battle. Combining innovative approaches that address multiple layers of healing provides true long-term benefits.
Combining Red Light Therapy with Knee Restoration Protocols
Incorporating red light therapy with knee restoration protocols offers a synergistic boost to the recovery process. Each component enhances the effectiveness of the other one by targeting the underlying processes that cause discomfort and mobility loss.
Targeted Tissue Repair at Multiple Depths
Targeted knee restoration therapies such as SoftWave focus on tissue regeneration, joint decompression, and mobility, all of which involve deeper joint structures, including cartilage and the synovial capsule. RLT targets surface-level healing and deeper-level issues, helping to bridge the gap in places that knee restoration protocols can’t target.
When used together, this provides a multi-layered, targeted healing approach, ensuring all affected tissues are dealt with.
- Red light therapy reduces discomfort in and around the joint.
- The SoftWave TRT therapy signals deeper natural tissue regeneration processes.
- Knee traction helps restore joint space and correct poor knee alignment.
- Infrared lightwaves energize deeper natural tissue repair at a cellular level.
“So this is just a quick overview. Combining both modalities with the red light, getting actual greater depth of penetration into the joint, into the tissue, to elicit more of a healing response.” - Dr. Mike Lynch
Enhanced Blood Flow and Oxygen Delivery
One of the primary benefits of RLT is its ability to increase nitric oxide release, a molecule that acts as a vasodilator. The improved circulation enhances oxygen and nutrient delivery to the target tissues while flushing out metabolic waste, both vital aspects of joint health and recovery.
"The subcutaneous level of skin has a reservoir of nitric oxide, and red light specifically helps release that, boosting circulation to injured areas." - Dr. Mike Lynch
The increased blood flow helps prime the affected knee joint for deeper healing knee restoration protocols such as manual therapy and soft tissue mobilization, setting the stage for improved treatment outcomes.
Accelerated Recovery Between Knee Restoration Treatments
Stimulating mitochondrial activity to boost cellular energy production accelerates the natural healing processes in tissues in and around the knee joint. The ability of RLT to modulate discomfort and improve function makes it an ideal recovery tool to use between different knee restoration protocols.
With consistent use, RLT can enhance recovery between sessions, ensuring continued progress with the reduction in soreness and discomfort. Knee restoration protocols, such as SoftWave therapy and targeted exercise, aim to gradually enhance natural repair processes and gently restore mobility, making them prime candidates.
Improved Pain and Functional Movement
NSAIDs and pain injections provide short-term symptom relief. Using RLT with knee restoration protocols helps break the stubborn pain cycle by changing how the body functions and deals with the discomfort at multiple levels.
RLT enhances blood circulation and tissue health, while knee traction and chiropractic adjustments improve load distribution, knee alignment, and neuromuscular function. This synergy between different treatments reduces discomfort and enhances functional movement while addressing the root causes, translating into long-term beneficial outcomes.
“You're bringing blood flow back to injured, unhealthy tissue… you're waking things up… you're bringing motion back to joints that are stuck, fixated, haven't been moving well for weeks, months, years—they're going to be sore. So don't let that scare you, just set proper expectations.” - Dr. Mike Lynch
A Practical Guide to Using Red Light Therapy with Knee Restoration Protocols
Here are some of the ways that these versatile recovery tools can be combined after the initial baseline assessment and imaging to assess joint alignment and soft tissue status.
- Pre-Mobility Warm-Up — Using RLT to increase local blood flow before manual therapy sessions and chiropractic adjustments helps prime the joint and surrounding structures. This improves the effectiveness of the adjustments by enhancing joint range of motion.
- Post-Treatment Recovery — Applying RLT post-treatment following knee restoration protocols such as SoftWave therapy and knee traction, helps reduce discomfort and promote faster tissue repair as the knee enters its recovery phase. The reduction in recovery time can improve treatment outcomes and reduce downtime between sessions.
- Daily Home Use With Corrective Exercises — Integrate daily 15-20 minute Move+ sessions into your wellness practice, combining them with corrective exercises that can be performed at home. Strap the Move+ directly against the affected knee joint, making sure there's no loose clothing in the way.
As Dr Mike Lynch aptly puts it, “Consistency and repetition are key for healing.”
