Advacne Magazine for Physical Therapists and PT Assistants
Vol. 18 •Issue 19 • Page 36

Let There Be Light-- The sun is one of the best healing modalities we have

By Samuel A. Mielcarski, DPT, PES

When thinking about how to attain optimal rehab results, one of the most commonly overlooked modalities is light. Although there are many synthetic photoelectric modalities currently in use, I am referring to natural light—sunshine.

Sunshine, along with air, water, food, rest/sleep and exercise, is a vital nutrient necessary for proper growth, development and repair of the body. Sunshine helps to promote normal body rhythms (circadian rhythms) and regulate hormone function, as well as maintain a healthy immune system. Sunshine is also the best source of vitamin D for the body—a vitamin that is imperative for the prevention of many types of cancer, including skin cancer.^1-7

Adequate vitamin D levels also help to prevent other health problems, including diabetes, obesity, heart disease, arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, depression, schizophrenia, chronic pain and many types of skin disorders, such as psoriasis. After working with hundreds of sick and injured patients and clients over the past 10 years, I have concluded that many of them were suffering from a sunlight deficiency. This condition may be called "malillumination"—a form of malnutrition.

A person's sun requirements can change from day to day. Therefore, it is important for people to listen carefully to their bodies. A person should get just enough sun each day. In other words, when his body has received all the sun it needs, he should get out of the sun.

Sunbathing in the early morning or late evening hours is recommended to help avoid the strongest rays of the sun and prevent overexposure. Sunbathing with little clothing is preferable to help get the maximum health benefits from the sun. Sunglasses should also be used only when necessary.

Are Sun Blocks Needed?

More evidence is coming out that suggests many synthetic sunblocks may actually do more harm than good.^4-6,8,9 As a result, there are companies now making healthier sunscreen alternatives. Other forms of natural external sunscreen, which often get overlooked, include a shady tree, a big hat, and long sleeves and pants. However, the best form of sunscreen really comes from the inside out, not the outside in.

Healthy bodies that are properly nourished (having adequate amounts of antioxidants and phytonutrients) are very sun-tolerant and do not get burned easily; or suffer eye damage. Fatty acids are also important, especially keeping a healthy balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in the diet. The proper ratio should ideally be 1:1 to 3:1, but many Americans are in the 15:1 range and some even as high as 20:1 and 50:1.

It appears that sunburn in conjunction with excess omega-6 fats in the diet can increase a person's risk of skin cancer. There has been research implicating omega-6 fat as stimulators and long-chain omega-3 fats as inhibitors of development and progression of a range of human cancers, including skin cancers.^9,10,11

Therefore, a better solution to slathering on synthetic sun blocks, which can be toxic and do not address the causes of sun burns, skin cancers, or other health problems, is proper nourishment and common-sense sun exposure habits.

Sunshine's Purpose

The purpose of sunshine is to help maintain optimal health and well-being, not just to catch a tan; and definitely not to get burned. When sunbathing is done mindfully (without distractions), overexposure rarely occurs.

People have become so sun-phobic these days, it is ridiculous. Common sense dictates that most living things need food, water, air, sleep, exercise and sunlight to grow and develop properly. Humans count as "living things." People should be more concerned with avoiding artificial light, especially fluorescent lighting, as opposed to natural sunlight

In general, fluorescent lighting is not recommended. Although compact fluorescent lights have gotten a large amount of media attention lately regarding their usage and efficiency, these lights should be avoided. Most of them contain dangerous levels of mercury and have been shown to stress the body in many negative ways. Full spectrum indoor lighting is a much safer and healthier alternative to fluorescent lights.^3,7,12

Clinical Implications for Therapists

Physical therapists are currently at the forefront of health promotion and disease prevention. Teaching patients about the benefits of daily sunshine should be mandatory.

Many patients and clients have concerns about skin cancer, as its incidence in the United States has tripled in recent years to more than 54,000 annual cases. Therefore, many patients will need to have their fears and anxieties relieved about sun exposure. Therapists can help to relieve these fears with proper education.

Using the rehab principle called, "The Law of Progressive Adaptation," therapists can instruct their patients on how to progress slowly and wisely when receiving sun exposure. For example, at the beginning of the sunny season, exposure may be limited to several minutes, then progressed from there, so that a person will be able to have normal sun exposure with decreased risks of sun burn or skin cancer.

Therapists should also inform their patients that it takes a long time to reverse a vitamin D deficiency if they have one, so they need to be patient and persistent with their sun habits. However, many people will start feeling better right away, once they start getting more daily sunshine. Artificial sources of UV radiation including tanning beds and sun lamps should be avoided.

Therapists should also be aware that the further from the equator a person lives, and the darker their skin color, the more sun exposure they usually need to get benefits from the sun. People with more body fat (obesity) will usually need more sunshine as well. Fair-skinned people will usually need less sun exposure.

In the book The UV Advantage, four tables give guidelines for proper sun exposure. This includes people living anywhere on the globe, any time of the year, for any skin type and at any time of day. Therapists also need to be aware that sun exposure through glass windows is not the same as direct sun exposure.

To get true benefits from the sun, direct sun exposure is needed. Surfaces such as sand, snow, concrete and water can reflect up to 85 percent of the UV radiation. Extra precautions should be taken when around these surfaces.

Some Bright Stats

Therapists should consider the following statistics and how they apply clinically to various patient populations, as well as to health care workers:

• More than 30 percent of doctors and medical school students are vitamin D deficient.
• At least 40 percent of the U.S. population is vitamin D deficient.
• Up to 42 percent of African American women of childbearing age are deficient in vitamin D.
• Approximately 48 percent of young girls (9-11 years old) are vitamin D deficient.
• Up to 60 percent of all hospital patients are vitamin D deficient.
• Up to 76 percent of pregnant mothers are severely vitamin D deficient, causing widespread vitamin D deficiencies in their unborn children, which predis poses them to type 1 diabetes, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia later in life. More than 80 percent of the children born to these mothers are also vitamin D deficient.
• Up to 80 percent of nursing home patients are vitamin D deficient.

Teach Your Patients

Therapists can also teach their patients and clients about proper nutrition, such as the importance of eating antioxidant and phytonutrient-rich foods (fruits and veggies), avoiding unnecessary synthetic sun blocks, and reducing the over-consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils and animal products that are not naturally raised.

Obtaining the omega-3 and -6 fats from whole natural foods as much as possible is a better choice than relying on oils, which are a refined food. Patients also need to understand that proper calcium absorption is dependent on vitamin D, and the sun is the best form of this vitamin to keep their bones strong and bodies healthy.

Therapists should also be educating pregnant women to get adequate amounts of sunshine. Recent studies have reported a causal association between stature and month of birth. Perinatal exposure to sunlight has been suggested as one of the main factors underlying this relationship. However, the mechanisms involved remain a matter of debate. Research findings have also confirmed that prenatal sunlight is one of the most significant determinants of height. The trimester of greatest influence is still questionable.¹³

Therapists should be getting daily sunshine to remain happy and healthy themselves, as well as be good role models for their patients and clients. Allowing natural sunlight into the rehab setting and/or using full spectrum lighting in the clinic, as opposed to fluorescent lighting, can also help to promote a better healing environment.

Therapeutic considerations of sunshine:

• It's natural.
• It's noninvasive.
• It's effective.
• It's widely available in many regions of the country.
• It's free.

References

1. Garland, C., Garland, F., & Gorham, E. (1993). Rising trends in melanoma: A hypothesis concerning sunscreen effectiveness. Annals of Epidemiology, 3, 103-110.

2. Garland, C., Shekelle, R., et al. (1985). Dietary vitamin D and calcium and risk of colorectal cancer: A 19-year prospective study in men. Lancet, 1, 307-309.

3. Hobday, R. (2000). The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century. Findhorn Press.

4. Holick, M. (2005). The UV Advantage: The Medical Breakthrough That Shows How to Harness the Power of the Sun for Your Health. IBooks, Inc.

5. www.skinbiology.com/toxicsunscreens.html

6. Journal of Chromatography B Analyt Technology Biomed Life Science. (2004), 803(2), 225-231.

7. Liberman, J. (1991). Light: Medicine of the Future: How We Can Use It to Heal Ourselves Now. Bear & Co.

8. Diffey, B., & Farr, P. (1989). UVA filters in sunscreen preparations. Lancet, 2, 170-171.

9. Fry, A., & Verne, J. (2003). Preventing skin cancer. British Medical Journal, 326, 114-115.

10. International Journal of Cancer. (2002), 198(1), 78-83.

11. Cancer Research, (2000); 60(15), 4139-4145.

12. Ott, J. (2000). Health and Light: The Effects of Natural and Artificial Light on Man and Other Living Things. Ariel Press.

13. Early Human Development. (2000), 60, 35-42.

Samuel A. Mielcarski has more than a decade of rehabilitation experience treating various patient populations. He is licensed as a physical therapist in Georgia and Florida and currently practices physical therapy in the Atlanta region. He can be reached at www.DrSamPT.com