Charles Town resident Teresa Schimoler, left, chats about Shepherd University’s Photobiomodulation Therapy services with Janet Stokes, of Martinsburg, in the Wellness Center on Monday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Since March 2022, Shepherd University’s Center of Excellence for Photobiomodulation has been offering Photobiomodulation (PBM) Therapy treatments to the public, out of the Suzanne Shipley Wellness Center.

According to Wellness Center director Jennifer Flora, the treatments have been steadily growing in popularity.

“We are very unique, to have this in this area. The closest treatment available, outside of the Wellness Center, is in Arlington, Virginia,” Flora said on Monday. “The fact that we have it on our campus is very unique, because we’re a university and we’re actively doing research on it. It’s this beautiful, synergistic relationship.”

Over 5,000 treatments have been given over the past three years, including many for Shepherd’s student athletes, as research indicates that the low-level lasers and light-emitting diodes in PBM Therapy aid in healing, reduce inflamation and enhance athletic performance. Flora noted research also has shown that, by stimulating a person’s mitochondria, PBM Therapy is able to improve overall wellness, reduce brain fog, improve sleep, reduce joint stiffness and muscle soreness, increase mobility, temporarily relieve pain and deaddict those who use substances.

“Everyone should try red light therapy, at least for a month,” Flora said of PBM, “because we can’t control our environments, but we can start to take active steps on how we heal our bodies. So, through exercise, through how we eat and through modalities like this that are non-pharmaceutical-based, we can set our bodies up to start to heal and function like they were made to.”

More than 600 people, Flora said, have undergone a PBM Therapy session at the Wellness Center. A number of others have chosen to rent out some of the Wellness Center’s handheld PBM devices.

The decision between which kind of PBM treatment to use may largely be driven by an individual’s physical needs and budget. Currently, one session using the Wellness Center’s SunPoweredLED canopy costs $30 for Wellness Center members and $35 for nonmembers. Unlimited sessions for one month cost $200 for Wellness Center members and $250 for nonmembers. Services can be scheduled for 15-20 minute sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The handheld devices, in contrast, can be rented out for $10 a day.

For former art teacher Janet Stokes, of Martinsburg, paying for the monthly unlimited sessions has proven to be the best option for her, as she has found that she benefits from undergoing three, 20-minute sessions a week.

“I’ve been doing this since 2022 and it’s totally changed my life!” Stokes said, mentioning she started with having one session a week and also tried out the handheld devices. “I was experiencing pain, and I knew that I was too young to be having regular pain.”

Stokes, who was 67 at the time, did not believe in taking pain medication, due to concerns over it being addictive in nature. Because of this, she was actively searching for alternative treatment options.

“I had fallen on my knees and was having knee pain. I had gotten physical therapy massages, but that wasn’t working. Then, I saw a flier about Photobiomodulation Therapy when I had come to swim at the Wellness Center,” Stokes said. “When I saw this and all of the scientific research that had been done on it, I knew it was worth giving a try!”

According to Stokes, PBM Therapy, combined with good diet and exercise, has allowed her to live a life, free of chronic pain, once again.

“After that first session, I could already feel the difference,” Stokes said. “I was just like, ‘This is great! I feel great!’ I was able to go home an do things that I otherwise did not have the stamina for, without caffeine and without sugar.”

To learn more about the Wellness Center’s PBM services, visit www.shepherdwellness.com/photobiomodulation or email Flora at jflora@shepherd.edu.