Green light chromotherapy has been shown to reduce migraine frequency and intensity

New research from the University of Arizona Health Sciences has found that migraine sufferers may benefit from green light therapy, which reduces the frequency and intensity of headaches and improves a patient's quality of life.

According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraine is the third most prevalent disease in the world, affecting 39 million people in the United States and 1 billion worldwide.

"This is the first clinical study to evaluate green light exposure as a potential preventive therapy for patients with migraine," said Mohab Ibrahim, MD, PhD, lead author of the study, an associate professor at the Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson Department of Medicine. Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Neurosurgery and director of the Chronic Pain Management Clinic.

"As a doctor, this is really exciting. I now have another tool to treat one of the most difficult neurological conditions - the migraine."

Overall, exposure to green light reduced the number of headache days per month by an average of about 60%. The majority of study participants - 86% of episodic migraine patients and 63% of chronic migraine patients - reported a more than 50% reduction in headache days per month. Episodic migraine is characterized by up to 14 headache days per month, while chronic migraine is 15 or more headache days per month.

Mohab Ibrahim, MD, PhD

Mohab Ibrahim, MD, PhD, specializes in analgesics and focuses his research on non-opioid pain relief options, including green light exposure therapy.

"The overall average benefit was statistically significant. Most people were extremely happy," said Dr. Ibrahim about the participants, who were given light strips and instructions to follow as they completed the study at home. “One of the ways to measure participant satisfaction was, when we enrolled people, we said that they would have to return the light at the end of the study. But when it came to the end of the study, we offered them the option to keep the light, and 28 of the 29 decided to keep the light. "

The Doctor Ibrahim and co-author Amol Patwardhan, MD, PhD, who are affiliated with the Arizona Health Sciences Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center, have been studying the effects of green light exposure for several years. This initial clinical study included 29 people, all of whom had episodic or chronic migraine and failed with various traditional therapies, such as oral medications and Botox injections.

"Despite recent advances, treating migraine is still a challenge."

Said Dr. Patwardhan, associate professor and vice president of research in the Department of Anesthesiology. “Using a non-pharmacological therapy, such as a green light, can be of great help to a variety of patients who do not want to take medications or do not respond to them. The beauty of this approach is the lack of associated side effects. If so, it appears to improve sleep and other quality-of-life measures."

Green light exposure therapy is showing promise for other neurological conditions such as fibromyalgia. Source: The University of Arizona

During the study, patients were exposed to white light for one to two hours a day for 10 weeks. After a two-week break, they were exposed to green light for 10 weeks. They responded to regular surveys and questionnaires to track the number of headaches they experienced and the intensity of those headaches, as well as quality-of-life measures such as the ability to fall and stay asleep or to work.

None of the study participants reported any side effects from exposure to green light.

"In this trial, we treated the green light like a drug," said Dr. Ibrahim. "It's not just any green light. It has to have the right intensity, the right frequency, the right exposure time and the right exposure methods. As with drugs, there is a sweet spot with light."

The Doctor. Ibrahim was contacted by doctors from as far away as Europe, Africa and Asia, all asking for the green light parameters and schematic drawing of their own patients.

"As you can imagine, LED light is cheap," he said. "Especially in places where resources aren't available and people need to think twice about spending their money, when you offer something affordable, it's a good option to try."

The article, "Assessment of Green Light Exposure on Headache Frequency and Quality of Life in Migraine Patients: A Preliminary Cross-over Clinical Trial," was published online by Cephalalgia, the journal of the International Headache Society.

"These are great findings, but this is where the story begins," said Dr. Ibrahim. "As a scientist, I'm really interested in how this works because if I understand the mechanism, then I can use it for other conditions. I can use it as a tool to manipulate biological systems to achieve as much as we can."

Translation note:

I am Internationally Certified as a Chromotherapist by "India's Leading CPD Provider"*, I present in my Extrasensory Art & Design works, the principles of color vibrations and their multiple therapeutic functions associated with modern parapsychology.

I have been doing green light self-therapy since early 2020 as an adjunct to migraine and fibromyalgia treatment with excellent results in reducing symptoms and reducing oral medication. For more than 1 year without the need to visit the hospital to receive intravenous medication.

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Story Source: Materials provided by University of Arizona Health Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. Laurent F Martin, Amol M Patwardhan, Sejal V Jain, Michelle M Salloum, Julia Freeman, Rajesh Khanna, Pooja Gannala, Vasudha Goel, Felesia N Jones-MacFarland, William DS Killgore, Frank Porreca, Mohab M Ibrahim. Evaluation of green light exposure on headache frequency and quality of life in migraine patients: A preliminary one-way cross-over clinical trial. Cephalalgia, 2020; 033310242095671 DOI: 10.1177/0333102420956711