IR thermal systems use infrared energy to penetrate the body’s tissue to a depth of over 1 1⁄2". Tests have shown that the energy output is tuned so closely to the body’s own radiant energy that our bodies absorb close to 93% of the infrared waves that reach our skin, known as conversion. By comparison, conventional saunas must rely only on indirect means of heat: first, on convection (air currents) and then, conduction (direct contact of hot air with the skin) to produce its heating effects. The IR sauna is able to produce upwards to three times the sweat volume at much lower temperatures (110-130F vs. 180-230F). The IR sauna is significantly less costly to operate and does not heat up the area outside of the sauna.

Far Infrared Saunas are able to remove heavy metal toxins that accumulate due to sluggish elimination or exposure. Many clinics’ detoxification programs utilize IR Saunas for mercury toxicity, which they claim, is eliminated through the stool, hair and urine. Anyone experiencing the following symptoms that are often linked to toxicity can benefit greatly from using an infrared sauna.

Allergies, Acne, Anxiety, Burning Skin, Brain Fog,Depression, Eczema, Frequent Colds, Insomnia, Chronic Fatigue,Memory Loss, Mood Swings, Muscle Pain, Joint Pain, Poor Concentration

The same combination of "resonant absorption" and low heat that effectively removes heavy metal toxicity from the body, also improves the immune system. A typical infrared sauna session causes a brief 1-3 degree increase in body temperature. Fever is the body’s defense against bacteria, microbes and consequent infection. This beneficial side effect triggers the production of white blood cells (leukocytes) by your bone marrow and killer T cells by your thymus, resulting in strengthening the immune system.

what portable far infrared saunas may do for your health

energy efficient
All of our FIR Saunas use very little energy, about the same amount as a small appliance (a hair dryer for example). And with no preheat time, you won't waste energy or time waiting for your unit to warm up.

improves skin
Perspiration purges clogged pores of deeply imbedded impurities and dead skin cells leaving you with glowing radiant skin. An increase in blood circulation encourages a healthy flow of nutrients to your skin that in turn helps to relieve acne, eczema, psoriasis, and burns. It will also encourage the healing of lesions and minor cuts. Circulation is essential for beautiful, youthful, glowing skin! A new "inner Glow" as the skin is free of accumulated dirt and dry skin cells, due to deep cleansing of impurities! Open wounds heal quicker with reduced scarring. IFR removes roughness, leaving skin baby smooth and soft again. Firms and improves skin tone and elasticity. Scars on Skin that are fully formed, even keloids, may be gradually softened. Burns and other wounds or incisions may heal with significantly reduced scarring.
Cellulite: Cellulite is a gel-like substance made up of fat, water and wastes which are trapped in pockets below the skin. An infrared sauna can assist this condition, as profuse sweating helps clear this form of unwanted debris from the body. European Beauty Specialists confirm: a sauna will greatly speed any anti-cellulite program! Due to at least twice the depth of heat penetration into cellulite combined with up to 10 times the level of heating in these tissues your infrared sauna can be significantly more effective than any conventional sauna.

burns calories and controls weight
One session in any of Promolife’s FIR saunas will burn as many calories as you would rowing or jogging for 30 minutes. Through deep penetration of fat cells, radiant heat therapy will help clear away cellulite. Some weight loss authorities believe that our bodies use fat to dilute toxins. As an infrared heat sauna is an unsurpassed expeller of toxins, it is also a great way to get rid of any fat our bodies are using to dilute toxins we are storing. In Guyton’s Textbook of Medical Physiology, we find that producing one gram of sweat requires 0.586 kcal. The JAMA citation referred to above goes on to state that, "A moderately conditioned person can easily sweat off 500 gms. In a sauna, consuming nearly 300 kcal- the equivalent of running 2-3 miles. A heat-conditioned person can easily sweat off 600-800-kcal with no adverse effects. While the weight of the water loss can be regained by dehydration with water, the calories consumed will not be." Since an infrared sauna helps generate two to three times the sweat produced in a hot-air sauna, the implications for increased caloric consumption are quite impressive. Assuming "a sauna" as mentioned in JAMA, to last for 30 minutes, some interesting comparisons may be drawn. Two of the highest calorie output forms of exercise are rowing and marathon running. Peak output on a rowing machine or during a marathon run burns about 600 calories in 30 minutes. Your infrared sauna can, thus, play a pivotal role in both weight control and cardiovascular conditioning. This would be easily valuable for those who don’t exercise and those who can’t exercise, yet want effective weight control and fitness maintenance program and the benefits that regular exercise can contribute to such a program.

removes toxins
The process of perspiration is nature's way of detoxifying your body of waste materials accumulated in your daily life. These FIR Saunas stimulates this natural process at comfortable, low temperatures.

Sources of Toxins: Pathogens (includes metals and chemicals) Parasites, Pesticides, Amalgams

relieves pain
Radiant heat expands and dilates peripheral blood vessels. This action brings relief to muscles and soft tissue injuries. In addition, increased blood circulation delivers oxygen-rich blood to injured muscles which helps to speed up the body's natural recovery process. Effective for arthritis, back pain, muscle spasm, headache, etc. Radiant heat helps with sprains, strains, arthritis, muscle spasm and pain. If you are an athlete, your infrared sauna is all good news. It allows oxygen debt to be repaid more quickly. That’s likely to lead to improved and quicker healing of sprains and muscle pain for you!

strengthens the cardiovascular system
As you use FIR Saunas, your heart pumps blood at a greater rate, giving you the same benefits as a cardiovascular workout. Heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate increase, while diastolic blood pressure drops, resulting in improved physical fitness.

reduces stress and fatigue
The soothing warmth of FIR Saunas will relax and loosen your tight, sore muscles. Radiant heat therapy also relieves the stiffness, aches and soreness associated with aging.

temperature
All of our Portable FIR Saunas operate at safe, comfortable temperatures between 70F and 150F. This temperature range will not hamper your breathing or cause you physical discomfort, and the penetrating warmth of the Infra-Therapist generates healthy perspiration at comfortable, low temperatures.

Contraindications: Lupus/MS sufferers should be carefully monitored.
Pregnant and nursing mothers should not utilize sauna.

musculoskeletal cases

success reported with Infrared treatments by medical researchers:
TMJ Arthritis Traumatic Arthritis
Acel-dacel Injury Sequelae Disc-protrusion Related Neuralgia
Brain Contusion-accelerated healing Tight Shoulders- relaxed
Spinal Cord Shock-post traumatic shock reversed Muscle Tension - relaxed
Shoulder Pain – relieved or eliminated Bursitis – eliminated
Muscle Spasms – reduced or eliminated Low Back Pain – relieved
Compression Fracture – Example: pain stopped for 3 days with only a single treatment
Post-exercise Muscle Pain – vital to competitive athletes
Arthritis: Gouty, Rheumatoid, DJD – each substantially relieved or improved
Adhesions – lengthened or more easily broken; they are common in competitive athletes, trauma and repetitive stress syndromes.

"Medical practitioners make use of Infrared Radiant Heat to Treat sprains, bursitis, peripheral vascular diseases, arthritis, and muscle pain…" according to the McGraw/Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology.
Dr. Rubin P. Lysiak M.D. of the O&P Medical Clinic has reported great success with the use of infrared treatment for:
Whiplash, Menopause, Shoulder Stiffness, Pheaumatism, Gastroenteric Problems, Sciatica, Arthritis, Insomnia, Acne, Ear Diseases
The following is summarized from Therapeutic Heat and Cold, 4th Edition, ED. Justus F. Lehmann M.D., Williams and Wilkins, Chapter 9 or concluded from the data therein. Generally it is accepted that heat produces the following desirable therapeutic effects:

It increases the extendibility of collagen tissues
Tissues heated to 45C and then stretched exhibit a non-elastic residual elongation of about 0.5 – 0.9% that persists after the stretch is removed which does not occur in these same tissues when stretched at normal tissue temperatures. Thus 20 stretching sessions can produce a 10-18% increase in length in tissues so heated and stretched.
This effect would be especially valuable in working with ligaments, joint capsules, tendons, fasciae, and synovium that have become scarred, thickened or contracted. Such stretching at 45C caused much less weakening in stretched tissues for a given elongation that a similar elongation produced at normal tissue temperatures. The experiments cited clearly showed that low-force stretching can produce significant residual elongation when heat is applied together with stretching or range-of –motion exercises, which is also sager than stretching tissues at normal tissue temperatures. This safer stretching effect is crucial in properly training competitive athletes so as to minimize their "down" time from injuries.
It decreases joint stiffness directly.
There was a 20% decrease in stiffness at 45C as compared with 33C in rheumatoid finger joints, which correlated perfectly to both subjective and objective observation of stiffness.
Any stiffened joint and thickened connective tissues should respond in a similar fashion.

It relieves muscle spasms
Muscle spasms have long been observed to be reduced through the use of heat, be they secondary to underlying skeletal, joint, or neuropathological conditions. This result is possibly produced by the combined effect of heat on both primary and secondary afferents from spindle cells and from its effects on Golgi tendon organs. The effects produced by each of these mechanisms demonstrated their peak effect within the therapeutic temperature range obtainable with radiant heat.

It produced pain relief
* Pain may be relieved via the reduction of attendant or secondary muscle spasms. Pain is also at times related to ischemia due to tension or spasm which can be improved by the hyperemia that heat-induced vasodilatation produces, thus breaking the feedback loop, in which the ischemia leads to further spasm and then more pain.
* Heat has been shown to reduce pain sensation by direct action on both free-nerve ending s in tissues and on peripheral nerves. In one dental study, repeated heat applications led finally to abolishment of the whole nerve responsible for pain arising from dental pulp.
* Heat may both lead to increased endorphin production and a shutting down of the so-called "spinal gate" of Melzach and Wall, each of which can reduce pain.

It increases blood flow
* Heating of one area of the body produces reflex-modulated vasodilations in distant-body areas, even in the absence of a change in core body temperature’ i.e. heat one extremity and the contra lateral extremity also dilates; heat a forearm and both lower extremities dilate; heat the front of the trunk and the hand dilates.
* Heating of muscles produces an increased blood flow level similar to that seen during exercise.
* Temperature elevation produces an increase in blood flow and dilation directly in capillaries, arterioles and venuies, 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 hypothermia, 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 and by reflexes that change vasomotor balance.
It assists in resolution of inflammatory infiltrates, edema and exudates.
The increased peripheral circulation provides the transport needed to help evacuate the edema which can help end inflammation, decrease pain and help speed healing.

blood circulation

All of the following ailments may be associated to some degree with poor circulation and, thus, may respond well to the increased peripheral dilation associated with IR application:

Arthritis, Sciatica, Backaches, Hemorrhoids, Nervous Tension, Diabetes,
Children’s Over-tired Muscles, Varicose Veins, Neuritis, Bursitis, Rheumatism,
Strained Muscles Fatigue, Stretch Marks, Menstrual Cramps, Upset Stomachs,
Leg and Decubitus Ulcers, – failing to heal using conventional approaches,
Post-operative Edema - treatment with infrared has been so successful that hospital stays were reported to have been reduced by 25%.
Peripheral Occlusive Disease – "The goal is to maintain an optimal blood flow rate to the affected part... In general the temperature should be maintained at the highest level which does not increase the circulatory discrepancy as shown by cyanosis and pain.