The machine looks like a UV cabin. But here, it’s not about tanning. The Luminecla wellness center in Lille offers photobiomodulation (PBM) sessions, a kind of light therapy for the whole body based on red and near-infrared light, that is to say with infrared light with lengths waves from 700 to 2500 nm, just beyond the spectrum visible to the naked eye. “The objective is to boost vitality,” explains David Bernard, manager of the site which opened a little over a year ago in Lille, in Old Lille.
He has been working in this field for eight years and for him, it is the miracle cure. The lights act through the skin on what are called mitochondria proteins which are, according to Doctor Jean-Philippe Wagner, “the batteries and incineration factories of our body, capable of regenerating the body”.
Recognized analgesic effects
This oncologist, a pain specialist, has been using this technique for many years at the Coudekerque-Branche coastal medical center, near Dunkirk, in the North. “PBM has analgesic effects recognized by numerous studies,” he explains. The Gustave Roussy hospital, in Villejuif, in Ile-de-France, also uses PBM in the treatment of cancer, not to treat but as therapeutic support.
Pain, fatigue, inflammation, long Covid, healing problems… “This year, I welcomed 350 patients, including around forty for fibromyalgia, with very good results,” adds Jean-Philippe Wagner. The cause of the pain is treated, which promotes long-term recovery. »And yet PBM was invented almost by chance.
In the 1960s, a surgeon who was experimenting with laser rays to remove tumors from mice noticed that healing was faster and that hair grew back more quickly in areas exposed to certain wavelengths of red light. . The technique became popular with the arrival of LEDs.
Working on waves and energy
“The machines have become less expensive, even if it costs between 50,00 and 150,000 euros,” says David Bernard, who wants to offer alternatives in a world where chemistry is king for treating pain. “Our body is made of waves and energy. We need to return to physical medicine that works on it,” he continues.
In its Lille center in Old Lille, 20 minutes was able to test a few sessions, in underwear and dark glasses on his eyes. It is clear that we emerge relaxed as never before, certain neuralgic pains eased. The machine showers you with light for twenty-five minutes, with music in your ears. No feeling of heat since the light waves used are athermal. Slight disappointment: it doesn’t make you grow or lose weight. But OK…
“The advantage is that there are almost no contraindications to this type of care and that the benefits are felt in the long term, unlike cryotherapy where the effects are mainly immediate. But the two are complementary,” insists Doctor Jean-Philippe Wagner. That’s good, we also have to test cryotherapy in a future episode.