Infrared Heat and Joint Comfort: Warmth Alongside Your Care
Warmth is one of the simplest comforts there is. A warm bath or a few minutes by the fire is hard to beat on a cold morning.
An infrared sauna offers that warmth in a different way. This article explains how infrared heat works, what research has looked at, and where a sauna fits if you live with arthritis: alongside the care your GP or rheumatologist provides, never as a replacement for it.
Your Treatment Comes First
Let’s be clear from the start. If you’ve been prescribed medication for arthritis, keep taking it as your doctor advises. Any question about your medicines, including how long to take them, is one for your GP, pharmacist or rheumatologist.
A sauna is not a treatment and doesn’t replace one. What it can offer is a warm, relaxing space to enjoy as part of your week, used in conjunction with the care you already have.
What Far Infrared Is, and How the Heat Feels
When most people think of heat, they picture a hot water bottle or a warm bath. Infrared works differently.
Think of sunlight warming you through a window on a cold day. The glass stays cool, but the warmth reaches your skin. An infrared sauna works on a similar principle: rather than heating the air to a high temperature, its heaters give off infrared light that warms you directly.
Far infrared (FIR) sits in the 5.6 to 15 micron range. Because the heat comes from the panels rather than superheated air, an infrared sauna runs at a lower air temperature than a traditional sauna, typically around 40°C to 60°C. That gentler air can feel easier to relax in, and you still enjoy a deep, comfortable sweat.
A lower temperature changes how a session feels, not how long you should stay in. Start with short sessions and build up gently.
What a Dutch Study Looked At
A research team led from Saxion University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands ran a pilot study of infrared sauna use in 34 people with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. It was published in Clinical Rheumatology in 2009 (Oosterveld and colleagues, volume 28, pages 29 to 34).
Seventeen people with each condition had eight infrared sauna sessions over four weeks. The team recorded pain, stiffness and tiredness, how comfortable people felt, any side effects, and disease activity.
In the study’s own words, the sessions were “well tolerated, and no adverse effects were reported,” and disease activity scores showed no flare-ups. Participants felt comfortable on average during their sessions, and especially afterwards. The full results are in the published abstract, and our article on the Saxion sauna study looks at it in more detail.
Heat as Part of Your Routine, Not Instead of Your Care
Living well with arthritis is rarely about one thing. Medication, physiotherapy, movement, rest and the things you enjoy all play a part. A sauna session can be one of the things you enjoy.
A few sensible habits:
- Check with your GP or rheumatologist first, particularly if your condition is active, a joint is hot and swollen, or you take immune-suppressing medicines or medicines for your heart or blood pressure.
- Start short and build up, and step out whenever you feel too warm.
- Have water to hand and skip alcohol before or during a session.
- Be consistent rather than intense. A regular, relaxed routine is easier to enjoy than the occasional long session.
Our guide on how to use a sauna properly covers session length and cooling down.
The Vidalux Approach: Engineered for Comfortable, Even Heat
Not all infrared saunas deliver the same experience.
Many infrared saunas produce far infrared only, from carbon or ceramic heater panels. Vidalux infrared saunas use nano-carbon panels across the walls and floor for wide, even far infrared coverage, so there are no cold spots to spoil a session. In Complete Heat models, full spectrum heaters also sit behind the backrest, close to the large muscle groups of your back.
These back heaters deliver near, mid and far infrared together. A full spectrum sauna adds near and mid infrared to the far infrared band, for a fuller heat than a FAR only sauna.
Our heaters are developed to concentrate their output in the 6 to 12 micron range, with much of it around 9.4 microns, close to the wavelength the human body itself gives off.
Explore the Vidalux infrared sauna range to see the engineering behind the heat.
A Final Thought
A sauna won’t replace your rheumatologist, and it isn’t meant to. Used alongside your care, it’s a warm, calm space to look forward to, and the Saxion team found infrared sessions well tolerated by the people they studied.
Review the options. Compare the standards. Choose with confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use an infrared sauna if I have arthritis?
A: You may well be able to, but check with your GP or rheumatologist first, particularly if your condition is active. A 2009 Dutch pilot study of people with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis found infrared sessions well tolerated, with no adverse effects reported.
Q: What is the difference between infrared heat and a regular heat pad?
A: A heat pad warms the skin it touches. An infrared sauna uses infrared light, particularly far infrared at 5.6 to 15 microns, to warm your whole body at a lower air temperature than a traditional sauna.
Q: Is an infrared sauna a replacement for arthritis medication?
A: No. A sauna is not a treatment. Use it alongside the care you already have, and discuss any change to your medication with your GP or rheumatologist.
Q: How often should I use an infrared sauna?
A: Start with short sessions and build up gently. Consistency matters more than length. If you have a health condition, your GP or rheumatologist can advise on what suits you.
Q: Is far infrared the same as red light therapy?
A: They’re related but different. Far infrared uses longer wavelengths (5.6 to 15 microns) that you feel as warmth. Red light therapy uses shorter wavelengths closer to visible light.
Managing a health condition? Check with your GP first.
- About the Author
- UK’s best-rated?
With over 22 years in the home spa industry, Andrew has overseen every stage of the journey—from initial product design and manufacturing to final installation. An author of multiple technical publications and scientific papers, he founded Vidalux to replace industry hype with engineering-led reliability. His focus remains on delivering gym-quality wellness through honest design and technical truth.
DISCLAIMER: All specifications, claims, and advice relating to any internal or external procedure, practice, product, or service were true at the time of writing. For more accurate and up-to-date details in relation to Vidalux services, please visit the relevant dedicated on-site page. For any product-related information, specifications, or guidance, the information on the product page should be considered the governing source.
