Does it use heat? Do you feel it?
It does heat the tissue gently, much like sunshine on the skin warms your muscles underneath (sunlight has infra red and near infra red which are the 2 parts to any good infra red machine).
It feels like lying in sunshine, without the sunburn. It's way more than gentle heat from a hot water bottle, or a rice bag. Both create warmth which increases blood flow but the proper wavelengths of Infra Red and Near Infra Red change how fast your body heals, improves mitochondrial function and much more.
I really hesitate recommending it without people doing their own research and checking with their own drs. There are some medications that make you light sensitive for example, and that might end up being a problem if you try a red light machine. Ditto Lupus or any other disease that makes people light sensitive.
Even if you have the ok from your dr, and don't have any photosensitivity (sensitive to light) you do need to try it out a bit before you buy.
Mine cost me $500 US and that was after a 20% discount. It is UL listed, the wavelengths are the 2 that are recommended and it's a fairly sturdy machine.
The benefits may be fairly minimal- feeling slightly better, sleeping better which are hard to quantify. How much better? $500 better? I'm happy with mine, - I got that last summer, so not quite a year.
BUT people who buy something especially something expensive have a built in bias to find it useful and beneficial so I might be simply thinking I'm doing better than I am. So take me with a large grain of salt. Especially with the cost of these devices. (be wary of anything that seems too good of a bargain, they may not be using the correct lights to generate the correct wavelengths)
I have noticed better sleep, more energy the day after I use it at bedtime. I THINK it's helping with some of my bouts of ataxia, vertigo etc but that might be purely a placebo effect.
My cardiac arrhythmia has gone down significantly according to the cardiologist I began seeing after the arrhythmia appeared which was right after the vax booster. That is something beyond placebo but it might have gone down in the process of normal healing anyway. I still have it, but a lot less than I did last spring when I was first seen by him. That might be due to destroying the Spike protein or just due to improving the mitochondrial function in the heart muscle itself.
Theoretically and according to the studies I've seen it increases mitochondrial function, decreases blood sugar in diabetics, speeds healing and increases melatonin production within the body so you sleep better without the usual melatonin side effects from a supplement. It penetrates into the body- so there is the possibility it helps healing as in the research above. It does something to the spike proteins that cause all the trouble in Covid and the Covid vaccines. Which was why I got it last summer after 6 months of the arrhythmia.
Most physiotherapists have a machine and use it to help speed healing in muscle injuries as well as arthritic joints so asking a physio you know might be helpful or going to a physio for a few treatments.
Some gyms and fitness buffs use the machines- maybe you can try it out at a local gymn if you're interested.
I'd hate for someone to waste money on one (it's pricey) and then find it's not that good for their own needs.