This thread was an interesting read. I would encourage everyone here to not consider the effects of NIR and US to be mutually exclusive. As Solvay suggests, there is actually quite a bit of literature on the effects of NIR, FIR, and even visible light therapy on cellular health. NASA has been conducting light therapy (specifically red light therapy) for decades to assist astronauts in wound healing and cell proliferation in the absence of gravity and low oxygen.
Prior to focusing on therapeutic heat, I speculated that cell proliferation might be the driving force behind permanent gains in PE. This seems to be Solvay’s opinion as well.
So the question is why was I steered toward US/RF instead. Because I don’t see them as opposing therapies. IMO, the science of NIR is quite well established. I mean, studies out of NASA show 50% acceleration in wound healing when exposed to red light. But I came to believe that the physiological response to tissue strain is too great to overcome with the relatively modest effects of light therapy. I also wondered if it was actually counterproductive. For example, we know definitively that with even a modest repeat strain, the collagenous tissue responds aggressively to restructure itself against that strain. Do we really want to enhance the proliferation of that cellular response.
My best hypothesis was that light therapy might accelerate the early gains at the expense of later gains. Light therapy might also be very helpful in cementing gains and/or as a therapeutic application between sessions.
However, I remain convinced that the greatest long term results will be produced by 41-42C heat coupled with low load strains achieved at a rate of around 0.5%/min.
Then the question becomes whether or not a NIR device can reach target temps throughout the shaft. I’m not convinced that simply exposing tissues to these temps would nullify therapeutic response of red light. To my knowledge, they work on different timescales. High heat degrades the structure of the tissue but more importantly changes the viscoelastic nature of it without harming the health of the individual cells, provided that we don’t reach temps at which proteins begin to denature. This effect is immediate and the bulk of the effect is realized only so long as the tissue temp remains elevated. IMO, if the strain is produced just right, the result is a tissue in which bonds have shifted, gaps have formed, and cells are minimally elongated. Theoretically, this would be a condition in which light therapy might produce its greatest effect.
So, can NIR pads create 41-42C temps at the septum? I don’t know, but I suspect some of them might. Admittedly, previous tests used inferior or nonspecific devices with a broad mix of wavelengths, and likely far more residual heat output proportionate to IR radiation. This is certainly the case with FIR, rice socks, and standard heat wraps. With these, we’ve already demonstrated that it is very difficult to reach target internal temps without exceeding 43C surface temps. These results were often dictated by blood flow. But I would note that the delta was not extreme. For example, urethral temps of nearly 40C were possible with standard heat pads and rice socks, both of which have very little radiation penetrating more than 1mm into the tissue. This is a workable delta in my mind as we only need a 1.5C rise at the septum relative to the surface. If there was an internal bone or the penis was several times thicker, this would not be the case. But it is reasonable to suspect that 850nm light selectively might be just barely capable of the modest penetration necessary to push the internal temps into the target range. Especially when the shaft is stretched resulting in a narrower cross section.
I think this is why Kyrpa is so keen on someone doing a urethral probe. Personally, I’m not sure if it’s possible with 850nm light alone without quite a powerful pad. The issue with infrared heat is that IR and heat are not synonymous. IOW, it’s completely possible to create a lot of light radiation with minimal heat and visa versa. As Solvay suggests, it’s very important in this case to use a wrap preferentially in direct contact with the skin or using some other broadly transmissive indexing medium to create a central focus. Depending on the characteristics of the individual device, the latter might be better as certain pads might produce more surface heat than others making them prone to burning the skin when in direct contact.
In any case, I would suggest that it’s possible the most optimal solution could be something like a high quality NIR pad with a strong output at 850nm wrapped directly around the shaft inside a device like Nshaq has built, reaching 41-42C temps during the slow strain once every few days. And then using the NIR pad for a light therapy session with no more than 1kg of load and staying below 39C briefly each day between sessions.
