Does an infrared cabin have a beneficial effect on Bechterew's disease?
What is Bechterew's disease?
Bechterew's disease is a rheumatic disorder in which inflammation of joints in the spine and pelvis can lead to stiffness and pain. Symptoms may also occur in other organs. This disease is more common in men than women and it usually starts between the ages of 13 and 35.
If no treatment takes place, the vertebrae will gradually grow together, this is also called the ‘bamboo-spine’. This reduces the mobility of the body and at some point the spine will also grow crooked. So it is important for a patient to exercise the back properly every day and keep it straight. Anti-inflammatory drugs, physiotherapy, adapted furniture and adapted shoes also partially treat this disease. But an infrared cabin / infrared sauna can also help.
How can an infrared sauna have a positive effect on Bechterew's disease?
A patient suffering from that Bechterew's disease can have a very positive effect by using an infrared cabin. Making the spine supple by using infrared is experienced as very pleasant. Because you sit with your back straight in front of the infrared emitters, you have a direct effect on the spine. In addition, the back is also the best place to receive infrared and the effect of infrared also reaches the rest of the body through blood circulation.
If you only use the regular infrared heaters, you will see that really mainly the spine and the muscles and joints around it are treated by the infrared radiation. A combination of the Infraheat™ emitters also warms up and treats the entire back, something that is therefore even more pleasant and beneficial for people with Bechterew's disease. After all, the back is the weak area that needs to be treated and through responsible infrared use, this benefits many clients.
The infrared cabin can be used in the morning as a kind of warm-up for the whole day. As you treat the muscles and joints around the painful spine, this gives a positive effect for the rest of the day. Many clients experience this as pleasant and feel more flexible throughout the day as a result of the session of about 30 minutes of infrared in the morning and are partially cured of pain.
For the right effect, an infrared cabin does need to be used regularly. This is because once you have used the infrared sauna once, the pain does not disappear for several days. Customers who experience back pain mainly during sleep often use the infrared sauna before going to bed. In this, they use the cabin for 30 minutes and then take a lukewarm to hot shower. In this way, they get into bed completely warm and the use of infrared thus has a positive effect by reducing muscle and joint pains. This helps the patient get a better night's sleep and in addition, the stiffness and pain in the back is many times less in the morning afterwards.
The infrared sauna can also be used in combination with adapted exercise therapy (also in consultation with an attending physiotherapist or doctor). When people with Bechterew's disease suffer from spinal problems, it is often difficult to perform certain exercises that help combat muscle and joint pains. Because they use the infrared cabin, the spine becomes more flexible and so there is more flexibility to still perform these exercises in a good posture. Indeed, this is very important for the effect of the exercise, as an exercise performed incorrectly only gives a negative effect.
Study on patients with Bechterew's disease and the use of infrared cabin
Research has shown that patients with Bechterew's disease noticed significant health improvements after a 30-minute infrared session. For example, pain decreased by almost 50% after using the infrared cabin and, in addition, stiffness even decreased by 60%, i.e. the effect immediately after using the infrared cabin compared to before entering it. Fatigue after the infrared session was slightly less but not noticeable. These are results that actually show that using an infrared sauna has a positive effect on the relief of joint pain (especially of the spine and surrounding areas) that Bechterew's disease brings.
What exactly about inflammations coming into contact with infrared rays? When the inflammations are active, using an infrared sauna is generally discouraged. This is because the heat may cause the inflammations to be perceived as more sensitive. Nevertheless, it is possible to use the infrared cabin briefly during the period of active inflammations. You can set the cabin to a lower temperature and still let the infrared give its effect. When you use the cabin in this way, it is better to fully open the door and set the cabin to about 35 - 40 degrees. Then the ambient heat in the cabin will not exceed 35 - 40 degrees and you will still have infrared operation all the time without the adverse effect of the enormous heat normally present while using an infrared cabin. The infrared sauna gives the best effect when the illness is in a calm phase.